I’m sorry for ‘stupid’ tweets, says Sheerman
MP APOLOGISES FOR ‘THOUGHTLESSNESS’
HUDDERSFIELD MP Barry Sheerman has written an apology to members of his local constituency group for posting “absolutely stupid” tweets at the weekend.
The tweets, which have since been deleted, were said by some critics to be anti-Semitic in tone.
However, it appears that the Labour Party is content with Mr Sheerman’s apology, and that he will not face formal action over his words.
A Labour spokesperson said: “Barry has deleted the tweets and apologised. He deeply regrets the offence caused.”
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Sheerman, who has been MP for Huddersfield since 1979, said he had made “a bloody stupid mistake”.
But, in offering a “heartfelt” apology to all local party members, which was also sent to party leader Sir Keir Starmer, deputy leader Angela Rayner and chief whip Nick Brown, he hoped that he had cleared up the matter.
He also wrote to the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
This is the full text of Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman’s apology following his posting of perceived antiSemitic tweets.
It was sent to members of Huddersfield Constituency Labour Party on Sunday:
Dear member,
“I want to offer you my heartfelt apology.
“You may have heard that there has been a great deal of criticism of my recent tweets regarding my strong reaction to Boris Johnson’s list of people who he might place in the House of Lords.
“Some of these people hold partial responsibility for our decision to leave the EU, and our subsequent heavy losses in the General Election. They included people whose elevation to the Lords would not be our country’s best interest, but would instead be a reward for loyalty and support for the Conservative Party. I was so angry I was intending to liken the places in the Lords as a ‘thirty pieces of silver’ type of reward.
“This alone is an unpleasant thing to say, but I tried to be too clever and looked up the currency that might have been used 2,000 years ago, and found information suggesting it was the shekel. I used this in my comment.
“In a separate comment, I also chose two rich businessmen who have received negative press attention as examples of the types of people being raised to the Lords by the Government.
“It never entered my head when I was making that comment that the two people I mentioned were Jewish.
“I can see how offensive my comments have been, given this, and I am profoundly sorry. It was never my intention to make any implication about Jewish people, and I am horrified that I inadvertently did so. “I spoke at our CLP’s online meeting on Friday about how the Party needs to be strong on anti-Semitism, and I have always greatly valued the Jewish community who I have worked alongside since I joined Labour Friends of Israel at university. I am ashamed that my remarks were ill thought through, and that I have subsequently hurt people.
“I am going to give Twitter a rest for a period to reflect on my thoughtlessness and how I can do better. I want to assure you that I pledge to continue to work with all members in our common struggle for a more equal, just and sustainable society.”
It never entered my head ... that the two people I mentioned
were Jewish