Starmer sacks health minister after antisemitic WhatsApp posts revealed
In an online Labour group Andrew Gwynne reportedly said party member Marshall Rosenberg 'sounds too Jewish' and 'too militaristic', adding: 'Is he in Mossad?'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Keir Starmer has sacked health minister Andrew Gwynne and suspended him from the Labour Party after he was revealed to have made antisemitic comments in a WhatsApp group.
The MP for Gorton and Denton was revealed to have posted remarks about a Labour Party member and Jewish-American psychologist Marshall Rosenberg saying he “sounds too Jewish” and “too militaristic” from the name.
The MP also asked: “Is he in Mossad?”
Discussing a Labour meeting in Reddish, a member of the Whatsapp group had asked if Marshall Rosenberg would be there.
This appeared to be a reference to a late American psychologist whose conflict management techniques might have been useful in heated Labour debates.
Gwynne responded: ‘No. He sounds too militaristic and too Jewish. Is he in Mossad?’
In 2018, Gwynne had made headlines when it was revealed he was in a Facebook group called Labour Supporters in which antisemitic messages were shared.
At the time he responded: “I was added to this Facebook group without my knowledge or permission. I DO NOT support the posts and I ABHOR anti-Semitism. It has absolutely NO place in the Labour Party or in society. End of.”
After learning of the latest revelations the Jewish Labour Movement said on Saturday night:”JLM is appalled by the vile antisemitic, racist and discriminatory comments made by Andrew Gwynne MP.
“The Prime Minister is right to have taken swift and tough action in sacking him and suspending his Labour membership. There must be no room for hatred like this in our party.”
Gwynne also reportedly posted sexist comments about Angela Rayner, racist remarks about Labour MP Diane Abbott and joked about an elderly woman dying in a closed group chat with Labour figures based around Manchester.
In one particularly shocking comment, the Gorton and Denton MP said he hoped a 72-year-old woman will soon be dead after she dared to ask about her bins.
The Stockport resident wrote to her local councillor saying she hadn’t voted Labour, but added: ‘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 among fellow Labour figures in the WhatsApp group, Gwynne wrote a suggested response: ‘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.'”
The Prime Minister dismissed Mr Gwynne as a minister as soon as he became aware of the comments, it is understood.
Gwynne later posted on X: “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.
“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.”
The MP posted messages in a WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers, which he shares with more than a dozen Labour councillors, party officials and at least one other MP, the Mail on Sunday reported.
He made antisemitic slights and joked about a constituent being “mown down” by a truck, the newspaper said.
Gwynne also reportedly wrote in one message that he hoped a 72-year-old woman would soon have “croaked it” after she asked a councillor, who shared the message in the group, about her bins.
“The Prime Minister is determined to uphold high standards of conduct in public office and lead a government in the service of working people,” a Government spokesperson said.
“He will not hesitate to take action against any minister who fails to meet these standards, as he has in this case.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “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.”
The Conservatives said the posts showed a “rot” in the Labour Party.
“There is a clear contempt for pensioners in the Labour Party. This clearly goes beyond Andrew Gwynne and there is a rot in Labour that needs fixing,” Tory party co-chairman Nigel Huddleston said.
“Andrew Gwynne should not remain a member of the Labour Party – they need to act.”
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