Labour MP Dawn Butler has vowed to report the Mumsnet website to the Metropolitan Police after she was swamped with criticism for her reaction to the Brianna Ghey trial verdict.
The left-wing backbencher said she would refer the online forum to Scotland Yard – suggesting it was responsible for “vicious” attacks after she suggested that the teenager’s murder was linked to transphobia.
Transgender teen Brianna, 16, stabbed to death in village in Cheshire earlier this year by two teenagers convicted of her murder this week.
Ms Butler shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, of Brianna’s father outside the court: “This cruel government has created so much hate towards the trans community they should be ashamed,” she added.
But many users on the platform pointed out to the Labour MP that police believe Brianna was not murdered by girl X and boy Y because she was transgender.
Among the torrent of flak directed at Ms Butler, some accused her of “weaponising a personal tragedy” and trying to “score political points”.
In response, Ms Butler tweeted: “Oh I wondered where these nasty vicious inhumane people were coming from. Time for me to unfollow and report Mumsnet to @metpoliceuk.”
Labour MP Dawn Butler said she was reporting Mumsnet to the police— (PA Archive)
Mumsnet asked the Brent Central MP to contact them if she found posts “that break the law, including hate speech”. They added: “If you’ve seen a post that you think falls into this category, please do report it.”
Mumsnet founder Justine Robert denied the website was responsible for any of the attacks on Ms Butler. The chief executive said the site did not allow hate speech or “deliberately inflammatory posts” and has an active moderation team.
“It’s somewhat ironic that Ms Butler chose to post her attack on Mumsnet on X which regularly hosts comments that wouldn’t last a moment on Mumsnet and where the moderation is light touch at best,” said Ms Roberts.
She added: “We see this kind of double standard a lot and I’m beginning to wonder if it might be because Mumsnet is the only major platform dominated by women’s voices.”
In response to the reaction on X, Ms Butler tweeted on Friday: “I can see the trans phobes are still frothing. Get a life! Be kinder, be nicer, be better! It’s Christmas.”
The gruesome murder of a Brianna Ghey in a public park prompted candlelit vigils worldwide protesting against perceived transphobia.
The court heard how boy Y used ‘dehumanising’ language, talking about Brianna, referring to her as an ‘it’ and referring to her as a “tranny” or “femboy.”
However, detectives believe Brianna was killed because she was vulnerable and accessible, with her death not a transphobic hate crime but done for “enjoyment” and a “thirst for killing”.
Meanwhile, a judge has ruled that the murderers will be named by the media when they are sentenced in the new year. Ms Justice Yip ordered the press can identify the teens responsible for the “frenzied and ferocious” attack.
Brianna’s mother Esther was praised by a judge for her “fortitude and humanity” after she called for empathy and compassion for the parents of her daughter’s killers.
The Independent has contacted Ms Butler and the Metropolitan Police for comment.
