A LABOUR MP has apologised for a series of unearthed tweets in which she insults Estonians, Pakistanis and admits to elbowing a homeless man in the ribs.
Lauren Edwards, the Labour MP for Rochester and Strood, said she had made a “significant error of judgment” after the tweets resurfaced on Thursday.
In one post, Edwards wrote: “I want these f****** Estonian retards out of my flat now!”
Another post, which appeared to be responding to an account called Baroness Wrenthorpe, said: “Baroness Wrenthorpe text me from Walthamstow to say he’s seen a halal Pakistani Chinese Grill place. Hope he’s not suggesting we go there.”
While in another Edwards admits to elbowing a homeless man in the ribs.
She wrote: “Annoyed – card shop was shut and then drunk homeless man deliberately barged me in Cov Gdn.
“Big mistake, gave him a massive elbow to the ribs”.
In another tweet, Edwards appears to cast doubt on the sexuality of former Conservative Party leader William Hague after he shared the story of his wife’s miscarriages.
“Hague’s wife’s miscarriages have nothing to do with the Spad story,” she said.
“Completely unnecessary to mention it. Is it meant to prove he’s not gay?”
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Another tweet appears to show Edwards expecting cleaners to wipe coffee stains from her desk: “Are the cleaners on recess too? My desk has so many coffee rings it looks like Saturn.”
Between 2008 and 2013, Edwards worked as a parliamentary researcher for Labour MPs including Barbara Keeley, Teresa Pearce and Lisa Nandy.
She appears to have been in her mid-twenties when the tweets were posted.
In a statement released on Thursday, she said: “I have recently been made aware of a small number of tweets that I posted on Twitter from over a decade ago, which I now deeply regret.
“They were a significant error of judgement on my part, and I apologise wholeheartedly.
“Since becoming a local councillor and more recently an MP, I have seen first-hand the importance of bringing communities together and working with tolerance and respect for all in our society.
“I pledge to use my platform to continue that important work and dedicate myself to serving all residents of Rochester and Strood.”
Edwards was elected as an MP at the General Election in July with 15,403 votes.
The former SNP MP Martin Docherty-Hughes, who served as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Estonia, told The Independent:
“As the former chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Estonia, I am deeply troubled by the racism and ableism vocalised by the Labour MP in question and would encourage them to reach out to the Estonian ambassador as well as disability groups to apologise and educate themselves on the benefits of a diverse society.
“On the issue of parliamentary cleaners, the new MP should walk a week in their shoes to see what it’s like to clean up after a political class, though I doubt they would last a day never mind a week.”
Edwards' tweet about Estonians was later reposted by Twitter/X owner Elon Musk and has so far racked up more than 4.9 million views.
Her Twitter account is now inaccessible, with a message stating "this account doesn't exist".
