One of Labour’s new MPs has issued an apology after controversy over social media posts she made more than a decade ago.
A purported screenshot of one now-deleted tweet from the account of Lauren Edwards, the new MP for Rochester and Strood, said: “I want these f***** Estonian r****** out of my flat now”.
In a post on social media today, Edwards 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.”
She did not directly cite which posts she meant, but apparent screenshots had been circulating online.
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Mish Rahman, a member of Labour’s national executive committee, criticised the tweets and questioned the party’s scrutiny when selecting Edwards as a candidate.
In a post on social media, he said: “We missed these tweets on due diligence – I recall “r****d as a key search word.”
He later shared remarks made by another X (formerly Twitter) user who said: “Remember that Faiza Shaheen wasn’t allowed to be a candidate because she liked a clip from The Daily Show.”
Edwards defeated Conservative MP Kelly Tolhurst in the Kent constituency with a majority of almost 2,300 votes at the general election last month.
Edwards and the Labour Party were not immediately available for comment.
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