A junior minister in the British government's health department was sacked by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday over antisemitic and sexist messages he sent on WhatsApp.
The Labour Minister, Andrew Gwynne, apologized on social media platform X for "badly misjudged" comments following a report by the Mail on Sunday that he had sent a series of offensive messages on WhatsApp.
"I deeply regret my badly misjudged comments and apologize for any offense I’ve caused," Gwynne said on social media platform X. "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."
Starmer's office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The messages
The messages, obtained first by the Daily Mail, included saying he hoped an elderly constituent would die after she asked about bin collection and a number of antisemitic and sexist comments.
“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,” he wrote to a fellow Labour figure as a recommended response to the 72-year-old woman.
The WhatsApp group ‘Trigger Me Timbers,’ of which more than a dozen Labour councilors, party officials, and at least one other MP are in, also contained messages complaining someone’s name sounded “too Jewish” and “too materialistic.”
“Geoffrey the Giraffe says don't be nasty to the Jews,” Gwynne wrote months after condemning antisemitism following the discovery of his membership in a Facebook group with an abundance of antisemitic content.
A Labour spokesperson told the Mail, "Andrew Gwynne has been administratively suspended as a member of the Labour Party. We are investigating comments made in this WhatsApp group in line with the Labour Party's rules and procedures. Swift action will be taken if individuals are found to have breached the high standards expected of them as Labour Party members."
Gary Mond, Chairman of the UK's National Jewish Assembly, told the Jerusalem Post: "Occasionally in public life, the true beliefs of senior politicians emerge and they paint an appalling picture of their characters. This is one such example. Gwynne's disgraceful comment wishing a non-Labour voter dead and his antisemitic remarks render him unfit for public office. Furthermore, he should resign from Parliament."