The Labour MPs who posted offensive comments in a controversial WhatsApp group should quit parliament, according to a Labour MP.
Andrew Gwynne and Oliver Ryan have both been suspended by the party after the messages were revealed by the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.
Gwynne has also been sacked as a health minister over a string of offensive messages he posted on the group, including one where he said he hoped an elderly voter dies.
The Guardian also revealed that Gwynne described a constituent as “an illiterate retard” and a fellow councillor as a “fat middle aged useless thicket” in other messages on the WhatsApp group.
Ryan lost the Labour whip on Monday following an investigation into posts in which he appeared to mock a fellow Labour MP over his sexuality.
The Burnley MP, who is gay, also used an offensive nickname to refer to local Labour leader Colin Bailey, who has reported the matter to the police.
Appearing on GB News, former Labour minister Barry Gardiner said the pair should quit the Commons.
He said: “This is just about basic respect for other people. I think what people really hate is the idea that you present one face in public and in private, you’re a completely different person.”
Asked by presenter Michelle Dewberry whether they should resign, Gardiner, the MP for Brent West, replied: “Yes, I do good if I cut it short. Yes, I do. I think it should result [in that].
“Can I say, Michelle, it’s not my place to make that judgment. It’s for them to do what is honourable, and it’s for the party to determine that they should not be in the Labour Party or Labour MPs. And that process is still underway.”
If they were to resign, it would cause a double by-election headache for Keir Starmer.
Although Gwynne was re-elected with a 13,000 majority last July, his Gorton and Denton seat would be seen as a major target for Reform UK.
And the Lib Dems would fancy their chances of overturning Ryan’s 3,400 majority in Burnley.
