Labour MP Oliver Ryan apologises over comments in WhatsApp group
Mr Ryan said that he was a member of the WhatsApp chat that MP Andrew Gwynne was sacked as a minister over.
Burnley MP Oliver Ryan is being investigated by the Labour Party over “unacceptable and deeply disappointing” comments in a WhatsApp group.
Mr Ryan confirmed he was a member of the WhatsApp chat that Gorton and Denton MP Andrew Gwynne was sacked as a minister over and apologised for some of his own comments “which I deeply regret and would not make today”.
The chief whip will be speaking with Mr Ryan and “no action is off the table”, a Government source said.
Mr Ryan, who is gay, appeared to mock a fellow Labour MP over his sexuality in exchanges in the WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers, the Daily Mail reported.
The newspaper does not name the MP being mocked in the group and notes 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.
Mr Bailey said he was “very angry” and told the paper his daughter had reported it to the police.
Mr Ryan became an MP in July and was previously a Tameside councillor.
“Between 2019 and early 2022, I was a member of a WhatsApp group created by my MP and former employer, Andrew Gwynne,” Mr Ryan said in a statement posted on X.
“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 co-operate fully with the Labour Party’s investigation.”
An investigation has been launched into the WhatsApp group, which is said to include more than a dozen Labour councillors and party officials.
A Government source said: “Oliver Ryan’s remarks were unacceptable and deeply disappointing.
“While a Labour Party investigation is already under way, the chief whip will also be speaking to him and no action is off the table.”
It comes after Mr Gwynne was sacked as a health minister and suspended from the Labour Party over what he said were “badly misjudged” comments that he regretted.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said on Sunday that an investigation was taking place into the “whole incident”.
Mr Gwynne reportedly said that 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.
He 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,” he wrote.
The Prime Minister dismissed Mr Gwynne as a minister as soon as he became aware of the comments, it is understood.
A Government spokesman said on Saturday that Sir Keir “is determined to uphold high standards of conduct in public office”.
The spokesman said: “He will not hesitate to take action against any minister who fails to meet these standards, as he has in this case.”
Former Tory party chairman Richard Holden told the Daily Mail: “With such hateful remarks being spewed, getting to the bottom of this situation should be Sir Keir Starmer’s top priority.
“Sir Keir should not hide behind the process to delay action, especially with concerns that there were more MPs, councillors and Labour members involved.”
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart told the Daily Mail: “That was a big WhatsApp group with a lot of other Labour members on.
“Did any of them step in at the time? Did any of them call that out? If the Prime Minister doesn’t take action against everyone in that group, very quickly, we know that there is still a problem in the Labour Party.”
