Tom Slater Tom Slater

Don’t cancel Andrew Gwynne

Andrew Gwynne (Photo: Getty)

The police are coming for your WhatsApp groups. And if that doesn’t strike terror into your heart, you’re not using WhatsApp properly. 

The hapless former health minister and Labour MP for Gorton and Denton, Andrew Gwynne, hasn’t just been sacked by Keir Starmer for his offensive messages about pensioners, Mossad and Diane Abbott. He’s also been reported to the police by a local councillor, meaning that, right now, Greater Manchester’s finest are weighing up whether to open a file on ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ – the group in which Gwynne inflicted his off-colour, often racially charged jokes on some of his fellow Labourites.

Personally, I think we need to draw a bright line between public and private here. How people talk – and joke – can be wildly different when they assume the door is closed.

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