Diane Abbott has called for all members of a Labour WhatsApp group which contained racist remarks about her as well as sexist and homophobic comments to step down.
A second MP lost the Labour whip over his membership of the group after Andrew Gwynne was sacked following messages he sent to the chat.
Oliver Ryan, who was elected to his Burnley seat last summer, was administratively suspended from the party on Monday.
Sacked health minister Mr Gwynne reportedly said he hoped a 72-year-old woman would soon die after she asked a councillor about bin collections, and joked about a constituent being “mown down” by a truck.
The MP for Gorton and Denton also reportedly posted sexist comments about Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and racist remarks about Stoke Newington and Hackney North MP Ms Abbott.
Reacting to the news Ms Abbott, who is also the Mother of the House, told Sky News everyone involved in the private group chat “should step down from whatever position they have in Labour”.
She told Sky News: “They were offensive remarks, and in 2025, people should know better than to go in for that kind of racist and sexist verbiage.”
The longest-serving female MP added that she was “very sad” to see Mr Gwynne, who she worked alongside as part of Jeremy Corbyn’s top team, involved - saying: “He’s better than this.”
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 on Saturday apologising for any offence caused but did not suggest he would stand down as an MP.
“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,” he wrote.
He had posted messages in a WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers, which included more than a dozen Labour councillors, party officials and at least one other MP, the Mail on Sunday reported.
The newspaper also said his comments included antisemitic slights and a joke about a constituent being “mown down” by a truck.
The Daily Mail reported that Mr Ryan had appeared to mock a fellow Labour MP over his sexuality in exchanges in the group.
The newspaper did not name the MP being mocked in the group and noted he has never discussed his sexuality publicly and is not known to be gay.
Mr Ryan is also said to have used an offensive nickname to refer to local Labour leader Colin Bailey.
He became an MP in July and was previously a Tameside councillor.
On Monday claims appeared that Labour officials were repeatedly warned about the WhatsApp group containing offensive messages before they were made public.
Gerald Cooney, the former Labour leader of Tameside council in Greater Manchester, said he raised concerns about Mr Gwynne’s remarks several times in the past year.
Mr Cooney insisted he had told two senior regional officials about the messages, including concerns raised about what he described as “misogynistic” comments about Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
But Labour sources said no formal complaint had been received about the WhatsApp group.
