'You would resign!' Labour MP sparks fury after dodging Andrew Gwynne grilling: 'In what world can he remain an MP?'

In one particularly shocking message, Gwynne responded to a 72-year-old resident's complaint about bin collections with a suggested reply: "Dear resident, F*** your bins. I'm re-elected and without your vote. Screw you. PS: Hopefully you'll have croaked it by the all-outs."

The reference to "all-outs" pertained to upcoming council elections when all seats would be contested.

Discussing Gwynne's dismissal on GB News, Labour MP Matthew Pennycook defended the swift action taken by Starmer, telling Camilla: "The comments made by Andrew Gwynne are completely unacceptable, and I appreciate you giving credit to the Prime Minister for acting decisively as he has."

"We're a Government in service of working people, so we've taken decisive action to dismiss Andrew Gwynne as a minister," he added.

When pressed by Camilla on whether Gwynne should "remain in Parliament at all", Pennycook affirmed: "There's a live investigation going on. Andrew Gwynne has been administratively suspended, he's lost the Labour whip, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment in any way."

Delivering her verdict on Gwynne's position as Labour MP, Camilla hit back: "He shouldn't be able to continue to be an MP, Labour independent or anything. This should be a no brainer at this point, and I appreciate there's an investigation being carried out, but we've already got a load of the messages literally in black and white in front of us. So my question to you is in what world can this man remain an MP?"

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Keir Starmer SACKS Labour health minister after vile WhatsApp messages exposed
• Ed Miliband torn apart in blistering rant over 'disastrous' policies: 'His days are numbered'
• Starmer lambasted after foreign plane trips cost taxpayers £700k during first THREE months as PM

Pennycook avoided the line of questioning again, explaining: "We're very clear those comments are completely unacceptable, but I'm not going to speculate on his future standing, whether he stands again for any of those other hypotheticals, while that live investigation is taking place.

"I think your viewers can draw comfort from the fact that both in terms of the Labour Party having that administrative suspension, the removal of the whip and Andrew Gwynne's dismissal as a minister, that the Government is determined to uphold the higher standards in public life and to act decisively across the board."

The Labour MP concluded: "We have got a series of quotes from the WhatsApp messages as part of that splash this morning.

"I don't have the full transcripts that I've seen, but I think your viewers will accept that it would be inappropriate for me to speculate on what comes next when there is a live investigation taking place."

In a statement posted on X, Gwynne expressed deep regret for his comments, saying: "I deeply regret my badly misjudged comments and apologise for any offence I've caused. I've served the Labour Party all my life and it was a huge honour to be appointed a minister by Keir Starmer."

"I entirely understand the decisions the PM and the party have taken and, while very sad to have been suspended, will support them in any way I can," he added.

A Government spokesperson said: "The prime minister is determined to uphold high standards of conduct in public office and lead a government in the service of working people. He will not hesitate to take action against any minister who fails to meet these standards, as he has in this case.

"We are investigating comments made in this WhatsApp group in line with the Labour Party's rules and procedures. Swift action will be taken if individuals are found to have breached the high standards expected of them as Labour Party members," they added.