Tory MP suspended by PM for using N-word
A CONSERVATIVE MP has been suspended from the party after she used the N-word at a public meeting.
Anne Marie Morris had the Tory whip withdrawn within hours of the incident and was last night facing a disciplinary inquiry.
She used the word in an offensive phrase during a discussion on Brexit at the thinktank Politeia in central London yesterday.
She said just 7 per cent of financial services in the UK would be affected by Brexit, before adding: ‘Now I’m sure there will be many people who will challenge that, but my response and my request is: look at the detail – it isn’t all doom and gloom.
‘Now we get to the real n***** in the woodpile which is, in two years what happens if there is no deal?’
The Prime Minister described the Newton Abbot MP’s comments as ‘completely unacceptable’. She said: ‘I was shocked to hear of these remarks, which are completely unacceptable.
‘I immediately asked the Chief Whip to suspend the party whip. Language like this has absolutely no place in politics or in today’s society.’ The incident is embarrassing for Mrs May, who yesterday criticised Jeremy Corbyn for failing to condemn the abuse and intimidation aimed at Tory candidates by Labour activists during the election.
Fellow Tory MPs John Redwood and Bill Cash were also at the event. Mr Redwood later said he was ‘ perhaps not paying attention’ as he prepared his own remarks, while Mr Cash said he was ‘not happy at all’ with Miss Morris’s comments.
A recording of the event was passed to the Huffington Post website, in which Miss Morris, 60, can be heard using the words. She issued a statement saying the comment was ‘entirely unintentional’, adding: ‘I apologise unreservedly.’
But Labour’s national campaign coordinator Andrew Gwynne described the comment as ‘outrageous and totally unacceptable’. He added: ‘While the Conservative Party has tabled a debate to apparently discuss and condemn abuse of candidates in the general election, these comments prove their hypocrisy.’
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: ‘I am utterly shocked that this person represents the good people of Newton Abbot.
‘Even if she misspoke, this is the nastiest thing I’ve heard an MP utter since Lord Dixon-Smith uttered the same awful phrase a few years ago.’
Some Tory MPs also condemned Miss Morris. Heidi Allen said: ‘I’m afraid an apology is not good enough – we must show zero tolerance for racism. MPs must lead by example.’
David Isaac, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: ‘This language belongs to another era and it is highly regrettable that it is not as instinctively abhorrent to Miss Morris as it is to most people.
‘At a time when we need to heal divisions in our country, using a phrase like this will offend the vast majority of people. Our MPs have a duty to uphold the highest possible standards of debate and we should not tolerate language of this sort.’
The decision to suspend Miss Morris weakens Mrs May’s already precarious position in the Commons. Even with the support of the DUP, Mrs May’s working majority was just 13.
But Tory sources said she did not hesitate to act.
‘Outrageous and unacceptable’