An MP who apologised for making fun of constituents and sending offensive comments in a Labour WhatApp group is under investigation by Parliament’s standards watchdog.
The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has launched a probe into whether Andrew Gwynne’s actions caused “significant damage to the reputation of the House as a whole, or of its Members generally”, it was announced on Friday. The investigation was opened on Tuesday.
Mr Gwynne was sacked as a health minister and suspended by the Labour party earlier this month after apologising for “badly misjudged” remarks he made in a group named “Trigger Me Timbers”.
In one message the Gorton and Denton MP had "joked" he hoped a pensioner constituent who had complained about bin collections died before the next election.
In another he suggested a serving Anglican priest should be “burned on a bonfire”.
Greater Manchester Police said that a “non-crime hate incident” had been recorded over the comments.
Oliver Ryan, the MP for Burnley who was elected last summer, was also suspended by Labour over comments in the same group of around 20 party activists and councillors.
It had been set up by Mr Gwynne when he believed he was at risk of deselection in his Denton seat - a process known as a trigger ballot - and used to organise campaigning.
Mr Ryan, 29, said he was a member of the group between 2019 and early 2022, when he was a Tameside Metropolitan Borough councillor. He has apologised for his involvement.
Tameside councillors Claire Reid, Jack Naylor and George Newton, who were also said to have been part of the group, stepped down from their cabinet roles earlier this month after an investigation was launched. All three represented a Denton ward.
Mr Gwynne has previously said: "I deeply regret my badly misjudged comments and apologise for any offense 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."
