The former Gorton and Denton MP Andrew Gwynne should have his parliamentary pass revoked over the 'Trigger Me Timbers' WhatsApp scandal, a Westminster standards committee has said. The committee described his behaviour as 'so extraordinary and shocking' that it caused 'significant damage' to the reputation of MPs.
Background to the Scandal
The scandal erupted in February 2025 when a series of offensive messages from the WhatsApp group were made public. The group included several local Labour councillors and party activists from Denton and Reddish. Mr Gwynne was sacked as under-secretary of state for public health and prevention and suspended from the Labour Party following the revelations. He sat as an independent before standing down in January this year, citing health reasons, which triggered a by-election won by the Green Party's Hannah Spencer.
Offensive Messages and Allegations
Mr Gwynne was alleged to have made anti-Semitic slights in the group, as well as joking about wishing a Stockport pensioner would die. He reportedly described one man as a 'Grade-A w*****' and referred to those living on the man's street as 'crackpots.' In another exchange, Mr Gwynne recalled an incident in Dukinfield where he said 'I lost my s*** in the street with some Duki hag,' claiming the resident made his colleague cry and 'lied' about always voting Labour. Grandmother Elaine Cole told the Manchester Evening News she believed that message referred to an encounter with her.
Mr Gwynne was also accused by his long-time Labour colleague Angela Rayner of 'setting the culture' in the group, where she was repeatedly personally ridiculed.
Commissioner's Investigation and Findings
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards launched an investigation in February 2025 into whether Mr Gwynne had breached paragraph 11 of the members' code of conduct, which states that 'members shall never undertake any action which would cause significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole, or of its members generally.' The commissioner found that the ex-MP broke the rule in three ways: by sending messages that 'refer to members of the public in a hostile, abusive, derogatory or offensive way,' contain 'casual homophobia, racism, ableism, or other discriminatory language,' and by being part of the group where others wrote similarly offensive messages.
The commissioner concluded his behaviour was 'so extraordinary and shocking' that it caused 'significant damage' to the reputation of MPs, according to a report released today (Tuesday). It also 'gives rise to the misplaced perception that members of the public who challenge a Member of Parliament, or who hold different political views, can be legitimately abused in grossly offensive terms.'
Committee's Sanction and Recommendations
Parliament's Standards Committee, which oversees the commissioner's work and can impose sanctions, recommended that Mr Gwynne's former member's pass to the Westminster estate 'be revoked with immediate effect.' 'Had he remained a Member of the House, we should have been minded to recommend a period of suspension from the service of the House,' the panel said. The fact Mr Gwynne is no longer an MP meant that refusal of a pass 'is the only meaningful sanction available to us,' the committee said.
The committee also said they would seek a change to the rules to prevent anyone who resigns from the Commons while under investigation from obtaining a pass to enter the Parliamentary estate before the conclusion of that probe.
Mr Gwynne's Response
Mr Gwynne had said he 'deeply regret(s) the choice of words and the clumsy approach,' according to the committee's report. However, he maintained the texts were 'satire and dark humour to call out those that were ridiculous around him' and argued that the WhatsApp group members were 'ventilating our frustrations' at 'a very politically challenging time.'
