Labour minister sacked over WhatsApp messages

A Minister has been sacked after vile racist and sexist messages were discovered, as well as one in which he joked that he hoped a non- voting pensioner would die before the election.

Andrew Gwynne, who served as a health minister, also made anti-Semitic slights and ‘jokes’ about a constituent being ‘mown down’ by a truck on a WhatsApp group.

In one particularly disgusting message, the MP for Gorton and Denton said he hoped a 72-year-old woman who asked about bin collections was dead before the next election, .

The resident wrote to her local councillor saying she hadn’t voted Labour, but added: “As you have been re-elected I thought it would be an appropriate time to contact you with regard to the bin collections.”

After the councillor shared the letter among fellow Labour figures in the WhatsApp group, Mr Gwynne wrote a suggested response: “Dear resident, F*** your bins. I’m re-elected and without your vote. Screw you. PS: Hopefully you’ll have croaked it by the all-outs.”

All-outs are council elections at which every council seat is contested at once, unlike local authorities where only a third of seats are up for grabs at each election.

The messages, uncovered by the Mail on Sunday, include several councillors, party officials and at least one other MP from the Manchester area.

The politician also made offensive remarks about Jewish people, after asking if ‘Marshall Rosenberg’ would be in attendance at a meeting.

The reference is believed to relate to the late American psychologist who was famous for his conflict management techniques.

He later added: “No. He sounds too militaristic and too Jewish. Is he in Mossad?”

The MP was also revealed to have made racist jokes about when she stood in for at PMQs in 2019.

The clash was a defining moment in British Politics, as she became the first black parliamentarian to represent their party at the weekly event.

When asked if her appearance was a “joke”, Gwynne told the group that she was selected because it was Black History Month.

A councillor then suggests other black Labour MPs, living and dead, asking: “Was David Lammy not available? I’d also take the corpse of Bernie Grant.”

Gwynne responded: “Or Desmond Swayne? Justin Trudeau??” A reference to an ongoing furore at the time after pictures emerged of the pair in blackface in their youth.

A government spokesperson said: “The prime minister is determined to uphold high standards of conduct in public office and lead a government in the service of working people. He will not hesitate to take action against any minister who fails to meet these standards, as he has in this case.”

A Labour spokesperson said: “Andrew Gwynne has been administratively suspended as a member of the Labour Party. We are investigating comments made in this WhatsApp group in line with the Labour Party’s rules and procedures. Swift action will be taken if individuals are found to have breached the high standards expected of them as Labour Party members.”

Mr Gwynne said: “I deeply regret my badly misjudged comments and apologise for any offence I’ve caused. I’ve served the Labour Party all my life and it was a huge honour to be appointed a minister by .

“I entirely understand the decisions the PM and the party have taken and, while very sad to have been suspended, will support them in any way I can.”

The uncovered messages reveal:

• Mr Gwynne saying someone ‘sounds too Jewish’ and ‘too militaristic’, apparently from their name alone;
• Racist comments about veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott, mocking her historic achievement in be-coming the first black MP at either Despatch Box for Prime Minister’s Questions;
• Sexist comments about Deputy Prime Minister performing a sex act;
• Mr Gwynne mocking a local Labour leader as ‘Colin C*mface’.
• Mr Gwynne said he hoped a pensioner would be dead at the next election. He said: “Dear resident, F*** your bins. I’m re-elected and without your vote. Screw you. PS: Hopefully you’ll have croaked it by the all-outs.”