‘Let’s be clear, the comments by Andrew Gwynne are completely unacceptable’
Housing Minister @mtpennycook can’t say whether other Labour politicians in Andrew Gwynne’s WhatsApp group will be suspended.https://t.co/dM5NyxSUSK
?????? Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/am31gSzqZY
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 9, 2025
Squirming minister Matthew Pennycook has claimed Labour doesn’t have an anti-semitism as he defended a fellow MP who was sacked over racist and sexist messages.
He said Andrew Gwynne’s comments were “completely unacceptable” after the former Health Minister was sacked by Sir Keir Starmer.
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Gwynne was binned after it was revealed he sent vile WhatsApp messages including one post saying he hoped a pensioner who didn't vote Labour would die before the next election.
He also made anti-Semitic slights and “jokes” about a constituent being “mown down” by a truck.
Sir Keir stripped Gwynne of his job and suspended his membership of the Labour Party when he was told about the content of the WhatsApp messages.
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Meanwhile, the MP himself apologised for his “badly misjudged comments".
Andrew Gwynne (Image: Getty Images)
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Speaking on Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme Mr Pennycook said: “I haven’t seen the details of the specific WhatsApp conversations in question, but the comments that Andrew Gwynne made, let’s be clear, are completely unacceptable,” he told.
“And the Prime Minister has been very clear from day one of this Labour Government that he is determined to uphold the highest standards of public office, determined to be a government that’s in the service of working people.
“And he’s acted decisively to dismiss Andrew Gwynne for that reason.”
Pennycook could not say if others in the chat will be suspended, which reportedly included another Labour MP.
“I don’t know, personally, what other people on that WhatsApp conversation have said… I’ve being very clear, there’s an investigation taking place into the whole incident,” he told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News.
He added: “What the public can take from the way the Prime Minister has acted decisively in this case to dismiss Andrew Gwynne is that if any other Labour MP or minister falls short he will act to uphold the highest standards in public office.”
The language Mr Gwynne reportedly used in messages is “completely unacceptable” and “in some instances, it’s deeply concerning”, Mr Pennycook added.
Asked about alleged antisemitic remarks made in the WhatsApp group, he said: “An investigation is taking place, and any action that needs to follow from that investigation will be seen through.
“I don’t think anyone can be in any doubt about this Prime Minister or this Government’s commitment to upholding the highest standards in public office and to rooting out antisemitism from the Labour Party, root and branch.”
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Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said a message about an elderly constituent was “sort of quite a nasty attempt to do down an old person” and “sort of reflects the attitude that the Labour Party seems to have to elderly voters generally”.
He said a message in which Mr Gwynne is said to have written that someone’s name sounded “too Jewish” is “sinister”.
“And that really does suggest that just beneath the surface, between all the sort of the window dressing that Keir Starmer has done that with senior Labour politicians, there may still be a very serious problem with antisemitism, and I hope that the Prime Minister will get to grips with that immediately.”
Put to him that Sir Keir sacked Mr Gwynne as a minister right away, he said: “But that was a big WhatsApp group with a lot of other Labour members – did any of them step in at the time? Did any of them call that out?
“That is a very serious remark, and if the Prime Minister doesn’t take action against everyone in that group very quickly, we know that there is still a problem in the Labour Party.”
Mr Gwynne reportedly posted sexist comments about Angela Rayner, racist remarks about Labour MP Diane Abbott and joked about an elderly woman dying in a closed group chat with Labour figures based around Manchester.
The Prime Minister dismissed Mr Gwynne as a minister as soon as he became aware of the comments, it is understood.
Mr Gwynne posted on X: “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 Keir Starmer.
“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.”
Mr Gwynne posted messages in a WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers, which he shares with more than a dozen Labour councillors, party officials and at least one other MP, the Mail on Sunday reported.
He made antisemitic slights and joked about a constituent being “mown down” by a truck, the newspaper said.
He also reportedly wrote in one message that he hoped a 72-year-old woman would soon have “croaked it” after she asked a councillor, who shared the message in the group, about her bins.
“The Prime Minister is determined to uphold high standards of conduct in public office and lead a government in the service of working people,” a Government spokesperson said.
“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.”
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The Conservatives said the posts showed a “rot” in the Labour Party.
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“There is a clear contempt for pensioners in the Labour Party. This clearly goes beyond Andrew Gwynne and there is a rot in Labour that needs fixing,” Tory party co-chairman Nigel Huddleston said.
“Andrew Gwynne should not remain a member of the Labour Party – they need to act.”