What is the Labour Party WhatsApp scandal rocking British politics?

Two Labour Party MPs have been suspended over messages in a WhatsApp group.

Gorton and Denton MP Andrew Gwynne and Burnley MP Oliver Ryan have been suspended from the Labour Party for allegedly sending inappropriate messages on the group — which is thought to have included over a dozen Labour councillors and party officials.

But what do we know about the scandal? Why has it gripped British politics?

Let’s take a closer look:

What happened?

The WhatsApp group ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ is at the center of the row.

As per The Standard UK, all the members of the group are thought to be from the Manchester area.

As per The Independent, a local councillor had brought the WhatsApp group to the attention of the party around a year ago.

According to the Mail on Sunday, Gwynne, 50, is thought to have made racist comments about fellow Labour MP Diane Abbott as well as sexist remarks about Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.

Gwynne, the ex-campaign chief for Jeremy Corbyn and ex-junior health minister, is also thought to have said he hoped a pensioner would die soon after she asked about rubbish collections.

According to the Mirror UK, the 72-year-old pensioner from Stockport wrote to her local councillor, “As you have been re-elected I thought it would be an appropriate time to contact you with regard to the bin collections.”

Gwynne allegedly wrote a mock reply to a complaint from the constituent on the WhatsApp group.

“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 [council elections],” Gwynne wrote.

He is also said to have joked about another constituent being “mown down” by a truck.

As per The Standard UK, Gwynne wrote, “I had positive visions of him getting mown down by an Elsa Waste HGV while he’s cycling to the Fallowfield Loop [cycle lane]. We couldn’t be that lucky!”

After one member of the group, speaking about Diane Abbot, the first black Parliamentarian to represent Labour, asked “who’s ready for Diane at PMQs?” Gwynne replied, “Yep because its Black History Month apparently.”

As per The Independent, Gwynne is also said to have made antisemitic jokes.

As per The Standard UK, Ryan used to work for Gwynne.

Ryan, who is gay, is thought to have joked about another male Labour MP’s sexuality.

Ryan is also thought to have used an offensive moniker to refer to local Labour leader Colin Bailey.

Both Gwynne and Ryan have been suspended from the Labour Party with the former being sacked as junior health minister.

The Independent quoted Greater Manchester Police as saying that a “non-crime hate incident” has been recorded and that they are investigating.

Both men apologise, Tories demand expulsion

Both Gwynne and Ryan have apologised.

Gwynne wrote 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.”

Ryan wrote on X, “Between 2019 and early 2022, I was a member of a WhatsApp group created by my MP and former employer, Andrew Gwynne. Some of the comments made in that group were completely unacceptable, and I fully condemn them. I regret not speaking out at the time and I recognise that failing to do so was wrong.

“I did not see every message, but I accept responsibility for not being more proactive in challenging what was said. I also made some comments myself which I deeply regret and would not make today, and for that, I wholeheartedly apologise. I will cooperate fully with the Labour Party’s investigation.”

Sky News quoted housing minister Matthew Pennycook as saying that an investigation was taking place into the “whole incident.”

“I don’t know, personally, what other people on that WhatsApp conversation have said. I’ve been very clear, there’s an investigation taking place into the whole incident,” he said.

“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.”

Asked about the antisemitic messages, Pennycook added, “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.”

A government source told the outlet Ryan’s purported remarks were “unacceptable and deeply disappointing.”

The source added that “no action is off the table.”

A government spokesperson told the Mirror, “The Prime Minister is determined to uphold high standards of conduct in public office. He will not hesitate to take action against any Minister who fails to meet these standards, as he has in this case.

However, that hasn’t appeased the Conservative Party – which has demanded the expulsion of both MPs.

The Independent quoted Conservative MP Richard Holden, the shadow paymaster general, as saying, “With two MPs suspended in just two days for their vile remarks, it is now clear how deep the rot is inside Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party.

“But Sir Keir cannot now try and sweep this under the carpet. He should show some leadership, do the right – and decent – thing, and expel them both.

“Anything less will show that his commitment to integrity is no more than lip service from the Labour Party.”

With inputs from agencies