Keir Starmer dramatically sacked one of his health ministers after he allegedly made racist, sexist and antisemtic comments in explosive WhatsApps – here’s everything you missed
Matthew Pennycook quizzed on Andrew Gwynne WhatsApp scandal
Keir Starmer dramatically sacked one of his health ministers last night after he allegedly made racist, sexist and antisemtic comments in explosive WhatsApps.
Andrew Gwynne, the MP for Gorton and Denton, reportedly joked that he hoped an elderly woman would die after she asked about her bins. He is also said to have made a series of antisemitic comments in his messages, as well as racist remarks about veteran MP Diane Abbott and sexist posts about Deputy PM Angela Rayner performing a sex act.
The comments were made in a WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers. An investigation has now been launched into Mr Gwynne’s alleged behaviour, as well as into the chat more widely, which is said to include Labour councillors, party officials and at least one MP.
It risks being yet another damaging row for the new Labour government, who have had a bumpy ride in finding their feet since the general election. Here’s a rundown of what went on this weekend.
What did Andrew Gwynne say in the WhatsApps?
In a WhatsApp chat of more than a dozen Labour councillors, party officials and at least one MP, Andrew Gwynne, 50, allegedly made a series of offensive and abusive remarks.
In one particularly shocking comment, he said he hoped a pensioner would die after she asked about her bins. The 72-year-old, who lives in Stockport, wrote to her local councillor to say: “As you have been re-elected I thought it would be an appropriate time to contact you with regard to the bin collections.”
After the councillor shared the letter in the WhatsApp group, Mr Gwynne wrote a suggested reply: “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 [local elections where every council seat is contested at once].”
In other messages, Mr Gwynne made offensive comments about Jewish people. In one discussion about an upcoming Labour meeting, a member of the group asked if Marshall Rosenberg would be there, in a supposed reference to a late American psychologist. Mr Gwynne responds: “No. He sounds too militaristic and too Jewish. Is he in Mossad [Israel’s intelligence agency]?”
The MP also also made race-based jokes while talking about veteran black Labour MP Diane Abbott. He mocked her standing in for Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons in October 2019 – a historic moment as she was the first black MP to do so for Labour.
When one person in the chat asked if the momentous occasion for black Britons was a “joke”, Mr Gwynne responding it was ‘”because it’s Black History Month apparently”. He then seemingly joked about whether Desmond Swayne or Justin Trudeau were available, two politicians who at the time were facing criticism after photos had emerged of them in blackface.
Elsewhere Mr Gwynne mocked Deputy PM Angela Rayner. In 2021, when she was then facing criticism for claiming £249 Apple wireless headphones on expenses, Mr Gwynne reposted a tweet from a parody social media account. It read: “I don’t see what the problem is. It’s literally impossible to give a b*** *** while wearing wired headphones. Anyone with a similar background to Angela would understand this.”
Why did Keir Starmer sack him?
In short, Mr Gwynne was sacked after the alleged WhatsApps were leaked to the Mail on Sunday. While an investigation is ongoing, he has also been administratively suspended from the Labour party. Mr Gwynne himself has apologised and said he “entirely” understands why he was sacked.
In Labour’s manifesto, the party promised to “restore confidence in government and ensure ministers are held to the highest standards”. Keir Starmer has been clear he will be tough on anyone who breaks the rules or fails to uphold the high standards expected in public service.
It was clear how ruthless the new PM would be when he suspended seven MPs just weeks after July’s election after they backed an SNP amendment to the King’s Speech to scrap the two-child benefit limit.
And as a Government spokesman reiterated with regards to Mr Gynne: “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.” It is a noticeable difference from the Tories, who allowed scandals and rows to drag on before any action was taken.
What has Andrew Gwynne or Keir Starmer said?
Appearing to admit his guilt, Mr Gwynne last night posted on X/Twitter: “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.”
Keir Starmer is yet to comment on the row personally. But it is likely he will be asked about it when he next meets with journalists, or at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. Political reports will also have a chance to ask the PM’s official spokesman questions at a lobby briefing on Monday.
What will happen now?
An investigation has now been launched internally in the Labour Party. Keir Starmer is under pressure to punish other Labour figures part of the WhatsApp group, over concerns they also made comments or failed to call out Mr Gwynne’s alleged remarks.
On Sunday housing minister Matthew Pennycook could not say if others in the chat will be suspended but that an investigation is taking place and “any action” that follows from it “will be seen through”.
No timeframe has been confirmed for the investigation. But Labour internal probes have been known to be shrouded in secrecy – with a now-resolved investigation into Diane Abbott previosuly taking over a year. In order to investigate, Mr Gwynne has administratively lost the Labour whip.
Critics argue that the scandal is yet another damaging row for Mr Starmer, who vowed to prove to the British public that politicians could be trusted after years of Tory sleaze. It comes after the PM’s Transport Secretary quit after admitting she had pleaded guilty to a fraud offence over a mobile phone theft and his Treasury Minister Tulip Siddiq quit after becoming embroiled in a corruption investigation.
But Mr Starmer has continued to show that he is not afraid of ousting people who are an issue – and quickly. It marks a significant shift from the Tories.