"Messages from the so-called Trigger Me Timbers group, made up of former Gorton and Denton MP Andrew Gwynne, Burnley MP Oliver Ryan, party activists and Tameside councillors from three wards in Denton were leaked in February 2025. Complaints were made claiming the messages included racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, hate speech and even death threats towards constituents. An independent report has found the six councillors had breached codes of conduct compelling them uphold professional standards and was published ahead of the Denton and Gorton by-election."
"Investigator Linda Comstive looked through 39,666 exchanges in the WhatsApp group from between 2019 and 2022, which when printed came out as 1,250 sheets of A4 paper. In the messages, Warrington compared some local people to serial killers Fred and Rose West, while another message from Allison Gwynne read "kids in Denton have always enjoyed swimming in street rubbish/raw sewage". One chat saw Newton refer to a local vicar as "the Laziest vicar ever", ridicule their size, and makes sexist slurs about them,"
"They insisted the group, set up in 2019, was private. The complaints about the group came from Phil Foster, Gary Clarke, and Independent Tameside Councillor Kaleel Khan. Comstive found he was a major participant in the group, and that a "reasonable person" would find some of his remarks about Navendu Mishra MP racist. When she interviewed him he argued the group was like "us chatting over a cup of tea"."
An independent investigation found six Labour councillors breached codes of conduct after offensive messages in a private WhatsApp group were leaked. Investigator Linda Comstive reviewed 39,666 exchanges from 2019–2022, printed as 1,250 A4 pages. Complaints accused messages of containing racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, hate speech and death threats. Evidence implicated Allison Gwynne, Brenda Warrington, Jack Naylor, George Newton, George Jones and former councillor Claire Reid. Specific messages compared locals to serial killers, mocked sanitation and made sexist slurs; some remarks about MP Navendu Mishra were judged potentially racist. Complainants included Phil Foster, Gary Clarke and Councillor Kaleel Khan.
Read at www.bbc.com
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