Why is Angela Eagle shocked at Labour MPs’ misbehaviour on WhatsApp? We have plenty of evidence of it, not only in her party but in her wing of the party.
After Andrew Gwynne was sacked as a health minister over messages on the WhatsApp group Trigger Me Timbers, another MP has come forward to admit sending unacceptable comments.
The BBC’s report states that Burnley MP Oliver Ryan is apologising for comments he made, and regretting that he did not speak out about things said on the group at the time he made them.
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The article states:
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, who is gay, 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.”
Home Office minister Angela Eagle, questioned about the situation, reportedly said she felt “pretty queasy and astonished” after seeing the messages.
Why?
Labour has ‘form’ when it comes to sending unacceptable messages on WhatsApp, as The Canary reminded us in an article yesterday (Sunday, February 9, 2025):
While the things Gwynne said are sickening, they’re not surprising. As many have pointed out, the Forde Report uncovered Labour’s institutional racism years ago. It’s also clear from Labour’s decision to remove the Winter Fuel Allowance that they don’t care about the lives of old people.
As Samantha Asumadu wrote for the Canary, the Forde Report had already exposed the toxic attitudes which exist within the Labour Party:
In 2020 Keir Starmer commissioned an investigation into antisemitism, racism, sexism, and bullying in the wake of a leaked document containing private WhatsApp messages exposing an insidious racist environment fostered by senior Labour Party workers.
The Forde report exposes a hierarchy of racism denied by the Labour leadership. It came out to a tsunami of Labour PR approved tweets. Their response effectively was ‘the report says the party was out of control. Keir is now in control and everything is going to be ok now because he’s getting rid of those people’.
Oh, really?
I wonder whether he actually did anything at all.
Maybe he only got rid of people who weren’t his friends. That’s how it usually goes when a leader is consolidating his power base, isn’t it?
And now the right-wing skeletons are leaping out of the closet to remind him – and the rest of us – of their presence.
It is welcome to see him taking action now. But I wonder why he didn’t deal with this problem in a proper manner previously.
Perhaps this former Director of Public Prosecutions is not a fit person to decide whether investigations should be carried out.
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Why is Angela Eagle shocked at Labour MPs’ misbehaviour on WhatsApp?
Why is Angela Eagle shocked at Labour MPs’ misbehaviour on WhatsApp? We have plenty of evidence of it, not only in her party but in her wing of the party.
After Andrew Gwynne was sacked as a health minister over messages on the WhatsApp group Trigger Me Timbers, another MP has come forward to admit sending unacceptable comments.
The BBC’s report states that Burnley MP Oliver Ryan is apologising for comments he made, and regretting that he did not speak out about things said on the group at the time he made them.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
The article states:
Home Office minister Angela Eagle, questioned about the situation, reportedly said she felt “pretty queasy and astonished” after seeing the messages.
Why?
Labour has ‘form’ when it comes to sending unacceptable messages on WhatsApp, as The Canary reminded us in an article yesterday (Sunday, February 9, 2025):
Oh, really?
I wonder whether he actually did anything at all.
Maybe he only got rid of people who weren’t his friends. That’s how it usually goes when a leader is consolidating his power base, isn’t it?
And now the right-wing skeletons are leaping out of the closet to remind him – and the rest of us – of their presence.
It is welcome to see him taking action now. But I wonder why he didn’t deal with this problem in a proper manner previously.
Perhaps this former Director of Public Prosecutions is not a fit person to decide whether investigations should be carried out.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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