Starmer will hope he can draw a line under damage of WhatsApp scandal after second MP’s suspension

Published

9 months ago

February 10, 2025

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Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has a ruthless streak when it comes to suspending MPs who’ve brought the party into disrepute or failed to toe the line.

It’s no surprise that Andrew Gwynne was sacked before the story of his outrageous comments on WhatsApp had even been published, given that Sir Keir has built his leadership of the party on the promise to root out antisemitism.

Labour ministers sent out to bat for the party have highlighted that decisiveness as evidence of the PM’s determination to hold its representatives to the highest possible standards.

Once it emerged that there was a second Labour MP in that toxic WhatsApp group, Oliver Ryan, it was surely only a matter of time before he faced his own retribution.

Politics latest: Diane Abbott condemns WhatsApp chat

We’ve only seen a handful of the messages sent by the 29-year-old Burnley MP, as published in today’s Daily Mail.

He was a 23-year-old councillor when the group was set up – and while clearly highly inappropriate, his comments are not in the same league as those of his former boss, Andrew Gwynne. But it also seems clear he failed to challenge, let alone report, what was going on.

In his statement last night Mr Ryan said he fully condemns the “unacceptable” comments made in the group, that he regrets not speaking out at the time, recognises that failing to do so was wrong, and apologised for his own comments.

It was a much more heartfelt, detailed mea culpa than Mr Gwynne’s apology for “any offensive I’ve caused” and description of “badly misjudged comments”.

But the party leadership wants to make it abundantly clear that the offensive comments in the group, and the offensive attitudes fuelling them, are utterly condemned.

It’s hard to see how they could have avoided suspending Mr Ryan. It’s understood the decision had been taken as a result of the party’s internal investigation and before his meeting with the Chief Whip this afternoon – at which he was informed of the outcome.

The danger for Number 10 is if there is anything more to emerge both from the cache of messages, and whether substantial previous concerns had been raised about the individuals involved.

Sir Keir will be hoping his rapid response will have taken the heat out of the scandal, and limited the damage to the party’s reputation. But there’s no doubt the damage has been done.

Politics

Norwegian tax authority sees 30% jump in crypto reporting

Published

37 mins ago

October 29, 2025

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Norwegian tax authority sees 30% jump in crypto reporting

According to Norwegian authorities, more than 73,000 people in the country reported on $4 billion in crypto holdings for the 2024 tax year.

Politics

Australian regulator gives long-awaited crypto guidance, but concerns remain

Published

3 hours ago

October 29, 2025

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Australian regulator gives long-awaited crypto guidance, but concerns remain

The local industry has welcomed the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s expanded crypto guidance, but resourcing concerns remain.

Politics

Hadush Kebatu: Migrant sex offender deported after mistaken prison release

Published

4 hours ago

October 29, 2025

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Hadush Kebatu: Migrant sex offender deported after mistaken prison release

Migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu has been deported to Ethiopia following his mistaken release from prison.

Footage captured from Heathrow Airport showed the moment he was escorted on to a plane on Tuesday night.

The government says he has no right to return to the UK.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she “pulled every lever” to deport Kebatu.

“I am pleased to confirm this vile child sex offender has been deported. Our streets are safer because of it,” she said.

Kebatu was found and arrested by the Metropolitan Police in the Finsbury Park area of north London at around 8.30am on Sunday following a manhunt.

Last month he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl and a woman in Epping, Essex, just over a week after arriving in the UK on a small boat.

He was expected to be deported, but instead of being handed over to immigration officials he was released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday.

He spent just under 48 hours at large before he was apprehended.

The accidental release sparked widespread alarm and questions over how a man whose crimes sparked protests in Epping over the use of asylum hotels was able to be freed.

Ms Mahmood said: “Last week’s blunder should never have happened – and I share the public’s anger that it did.”

On Sunday, Justice Secretary David Lammy said an exclusive Sky News interview will be used as part of an independent inquiry into the mistaken release.

Speaking to Sky’s national correspondent Tom Parmenter, a delivery driver who spoke to Kebatu at HMP Chelmsford described him as being “confused” as he was being guided to the railway station by prison staff.

The migrant is said to have returned to the prison reception four or five times before leaving the area on a train heading to London.

Mr Lammy, who put Kebatu’s release down to human error, said he ordered an “urgent review” into the checks that take place when an offender is released from prison, and new safeguards have been added that amount to the “strongest release checks that have ever been in place”.

From Monday, new checks include five pages of instructions and demands that more senior prison staff sign off a release, according to documents obtained by Sky News.

“I have been clear from the outset that a mistake of this nature is unacceptable, and we must get to the bottom of what happened,” said Mr Lammy.

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