Gay MP suspended by Labour over messages where he ‘mocked’ MP’s sexuality
Oliver Ryan has been suspended from Labour (GOV)
Gay MP Oliver Ryan has been suspended by Labour for his involvement with a WhatsApp group in which he allegedly mocked another MP’s sexuality.
Ryan, who overturned a Tory majority to win his Burnley seat last year, was a member of a WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers which included Labour councillors, party activists and health minister Andrew Gwynne.
A set of offensive messages in the group were exposed by the Mail on Sunday, including correspondence in which members made racist remarks about Black veteran MP Diane Abbott, and Gwynne, the MP for Gorton and Denton, in Greater Manchester, joking about a pensioner who had not voted for him dying before the next general election.
The messages reportedly reveal Ryan mocking a fellow Labour MP about his sexuality and criticising Colin Bailey, the vice-chairman of the party’s Audenshaw branch, in Greater Manchester.
The identity of the MP mocked by Ryan remains undisclosed, but Bailey told the Daily Mail: “I am very angry about this. I thought Oliver was a friend, as I did some work for him. You help these people and they stab you in the back.”
Gwynne was sacked as a health minister and has had the whip removed. Following a meeting with chief whip Alan Campbell on Monday afternoon (10 February), Ryan was suspended from the party.
“As part of our WhatsApp group investigation, Oliver Ryan has been administratively suspended as a member of the Labour Party,” The Guardian reported a spokesperson as saying.
“As soon as this group was brought to our attention, a thorough investigation was launched and this process is ongoing in line with the Labour Party’s rules and procedures. Swift action will always be taken where individuals are found to have breached the high standards expected of them as Labour members.”
— Oliver Ryan MP (@OliverRyanUK) February 9, 2025
Prior to his suspension, Ryan issued a public apology, saying: “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.”
A spokesperson for Keir Starmer said the prime minister was determined to “uphold high standards of conduct in public office” and “will not hesitate to take action against any minister who fails to meet these standards”.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said a non-crime hate incident had been recorded following a “small number of complaints relating to publicised messages allegedly from a WhatsApp group”.
A non-crime hate incident is where no offence has been committed but it is perceived that it was motivated by hostility or prejudice based on protected characteristics, such as race, gender, sexuality and disability.
What did the messages in the Whatsapp group say?
According to the Mail on Sunday, some of the messages exchanged in the group were racist and antisemitic.
In one exchange, Gwynne discussed Abbott representing the government at Prime Minister’s Questions, writing: “Yep, because its Black History Month.”
Another member replied: “Was David Lammy not available? I’d also take the corpse of [former Labour MP] Bernie Grant.”
In a different exchange, Gwynne responded to a question about whether American psychologist Marshall Rosenberg, who died in 2015, would be attending an event.
“No, he sounds too militaristic and too Jewish. Is he in [Israel’s special operation agency] Mossad?” Gwynne replied.
With regard to the pensioner – who had asked about bin collections – Gwynne wrote in the private group: “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.”
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