'Labour have thrown me under the bus', suspended councillor says as WhatsApp crisis deepens
A councillor has claimed he has been 'thrown under the bus' by the Labour Party after he was suspended over his membership of the Trigger Me Timbers WhatsApp group.
Vincent Ricci claims he raised concerns with party chiefs about the group more than two years ago. Last weekend Andrew Gwynne, MP for Gorton and Denton, was sacked as a health minister after allegedly posting offensive remarks in the chat.
Mr Gwynne later apologised for his 'badly misjudged comments'. Coun Ricci is one of 12 councillors from Tameside and Stockport suspended by Labour amid an investigation into the WhatsApp group.
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Burnley MP Oliver Ryan, a former Tameisde councillor, has also been suspended. Coun Ricci told BBC Northwest Tonight: "I'm so annoyed and frustrated at the Labour Party because it won't listen to me.
"I've told it I've got no input whatsoever and its response is 'well that's okay then, you'll be completely exonerated', which I will be, 100 per cent. I feel I've been treated absolutely disgracefully.... 49 years' service. What do they want us to do, not take it to Labour Party headquarters? Not speak to anybody? Not out them and let it all carry on?
"It's disgraceful. I haven't thrown the Labour Party under the bus, they've thrown me under the bus."
Coun Ricci, now sitting as an independent, said after he raised concerns he was removed from the group. He added: "I was taken off it because we'd spoken about it, that's my belief."
After the scandal broke, Coun Ricci said he had received abusive messages, adding: "People out there are tarnishing me with the same brush. I don't want a part of it."
A Labour Party spokesperson told the BBC: "As soon as this group was brought to our attention a thorough investigation was launched and swift action will always be taken where individuals have breached the high standards expected of Labour Party members."
The following councillors have been suspended from the Labour Party, the Local Democracy Reporting Service/Manchester Evening News understands:
Councillor Claire Reid, Tameside
Councillor Jack Naylor, Tameside
Councillor George Newton, Tameside
Councillor Vincent Ricci, Tameside
Councillor Charlotte Martin, Tameside
Councillor Allison Gwynne, Tameside
Councillor George Jones, Tameside
Councillor Brenda Warrington, Tameside
Councillor Denise Ward, Tameside
Councillor David Sedgwick, Stockport
Councillor Holly McCormack, Stockport
Councillor Ged Cooney, Tameside
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