Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WHAT WE’RE ALL SAYING FIONA PARKER Racist slur should have led to sack THE ISSUE
Theresa May has suspended Tory MP Anne Marie Morris after she was recorded using the racist phrase “n ***** in the woodpile” during a meeting about Brexit. However, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron and others have called for the Devon MP to be sacked – and many
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Susan Coupe, Middlesbrough Tory MP Anne Marie Morris has rightfully been suspended by Theresa May for using racist language. However, it’s not a surprise that the PM hasn’t sacked the errant Newton Abbot MP because the Tories have to muster all the support they can get in the Commons because of the hung Parliament.
Theresa May is a vicar’s daughter and should therefore possess the highest morals, but sadly she has resisted calls to sack Ms Morris.
The term Ms Morris used originates from the days of slavery and such language is highly inappropriate for anyone, let alone an MP, to use in the 21st century.
Bill Cook, Teignmouth, Devon
Anne Marie Morris should not just be ashamed she used vile racist language, she should have immediately resigned. To use such a phrase, one I thought had died out decades ago, cannot be brushed off as an uneducated accident.
If Theresa May does not force the resignation of this foul-mouthed individual then, in my opinion, she is complicit and should herself resign.
Alan Baber, Weston-supermare, North Somerset
I don’t understand why Tory MP Anne Marie Morris has such an outdated phrase in her vocabulary, let alone why she is using it.
She has apologised and Mrs May has suspended her.
However, this isn’t the first time inappropriate language has been used by Tory members, particularly towards Diane Abbott, and it does leave one wondering how common this sort of language is.
In my view, and I’m sure millions of others, it is totally unacceptable.
Diane Silva, Lytham, Lancs
Anne Marie Morris should have been sacked, not just suspended as MP for Newton Abbott, but Prime Minister Theresa May only suspended her whip for using the hate-inducing word that is a reference to the slave trade of bygone years.
Morris apologised, but as an MP she should have known better.
In my opinion she should have been sacked immediately.
Ashley J Smith, March, Cambs
All those people who were so vocal and demonstrative about the Labour Party’s apparent problem with anti-semitism have been very silent about Tory MP Anne
Marie Morris’s very real use of the n-word. What are the Tories going to do to address the problem of racism in their ranks?
Sasha Simic, North London
Unfortunately, Anne Marie Morris seems to have made a verbal slip recently by using an obsolete figure of speech. Obviously the word in question is best avoided at all times, but there have also been vile insults and threats by some left-wing supporters against both Labour and Tory female MPS. Perhaps in the real world, genuine hate speech is a lot more serious than an unintentional slip of the tongue.
Dan Hartley
Solihull, West Mids
I am not a Tory and I don’t condone the use of offensive language, but Tory MP Anne Marie Morris has apologised for her illadvised phrasing, and I feel that should be the end of the matter. With all the adverse publicity this has caused, I’m sure she will be more careful in future.
M Reynolds, Cramlington, Northumberland
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