Labour suspends 11 councillors over WhatsApp group

Labour has suspended 11 councillors in Greater Manchester as part of an investigation into a WhatsApp group where offensive messages were shared.

The group, revealed by the Mail on Sunday over the weekend, has already led to the suspension of two Labour MPs in the region.

Gorton and Denton MP Andrew Gwynne was suspended on Saturday, admitting he had made "badly misjudged" comments. He was also sacked as a health minister.

Burnley MP Oliver Ryan was then suspended on Monday, saying earlier that he had made comments "which I deeply regret".

The suspended councillors - from Tameside and Stockport councils - are understood to have been members of the group, named Trigger Me Timbers, which was set up to coordinate Labour's campaigning in the local area.

They include Allison Gwynne, Andrew Gwynne's wife, who is a councillor on Tameside council, and Brenda Warrington, its former leader.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: "As part of our WhatsApp group investigation, a group of councillors have been administratively suspended from the Labour Party.

"As soon as this group was brought to our attention, a thorough investigation was launched in line with the Labour Party's rules and procedures and this process is ongoing.

"Swift action will always be taken where individuals are found to have breached the high standards expected of them as Labour Party members."

MP suspensions

Andrew Gwynne was sacked as a health minster on Saturday night and said in a statement that he regretted his "badly misjudged" comments.

In messages seen by the Mail on Sunday, he said he hoped a 72-year-old woman would soon be dead after she wrote to her local councillor about bin collections.

The newspaper said Gwynne also joked about a constituent being "mown down" by a truck.

Ryan's messages were sent before he was elected as an MP but were reported in the Daily Mail on Sunday evening.

They appear to show Ryan mocking another Labour MP for his sexuality, and denigrating the vice-chairman of the local Labour Party.

In his statement, Ryan said: "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."