11 WHATSAPP COUNCILLORS SUSPENDED

Cllr Allison Gwynne joins her husband as one of those suspended in the wake of
the WhatsApp scandal

The fallout from the WhatsApp scandal continues, with eleven councillors being suspended by Labour on Tuesday.  The eleven are members of the Greater Manchester councils of Tameside and Stockport.  Andrew Gwynne's wife, Allison, is among the Tameside suspended.  Also suspended in Tameside are the former council leader Cllr Brenda Warrington and Cllr Claire Reed, a member of Labour's 'National Policy Forum'.

Tameside appears to be the main focus of the WhatsApp group, with a further three Tameside councillors stepping aside earlier on Tuesday pending a party probe into the scandal.  Another former Tameside council leader - Cllr Gerald Cooney - claims he warned party officials about the WhatsApp group 'over a year ago'.

The full list of those suspended is as follows.

Cllr Allison Gwynne (Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council)

Cllr George Jones (Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council)

Cllr Holly McCormack (Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council)

Cllr Charlotte Martin (Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council)

Cllr Jack Naylor (Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council)

Cllr George Newton (Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council)

Cllr Claire Reid (Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council)

Cllr Vincent Ricci (Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council)

Cllr David Sedgwick (Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council)

Cllr Denise Ward (Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council)

Cllr Brenda Warrington (Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council)

The eleven councillors join MPs Gwynne and Oliver Ryan on the naughty step.  Ryan is also a former Tameside councillor.  More than 40 people are said to have been members of the WhatsApp group.