Labour candidate suspended for ‘pro-Russian’ posts

A Labour candidate was suspended after it was revealed that he had distributed pro-Russian material on the Internet following the Salisbury poisonings.

Andy Brown, who is standing for election in Aberdeen North and Moray East, shared an article by Russian state media RT in April 2018 which, according to the BBC, claimed that the “toxin” used in the poisonings “was never made in Russia but was in use in the US, UK and other NATO countries”.

Dawn Sturgess, 44, died in July 2018 from exposure to the nerve agent Novichok, which was left in a discarded perfume bottle in Amesbury, Wiltshire.

It followed the attempted murders of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, his daughter Yulia, and former police officer Nick Bailey, who were poisoned in nearby Salisbury in March of the same year.

The Metropolitan Police identified three suspects wanted in connection with the poisonings: Denis Sergeev, Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga, who used the code names Sergey Fedotov, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov in the UK.

According to the Press and Journal, Brown also quoted a Jewish historian that same month as saying: “The real problem is that right-wing Jews inside and outside the Labour Party object to Jeremy Corbyn’s consistent support for Palestinian rights.”

Labour candidates with “highest standards”

A Scottish Labour Party spokesman told the BBC: “Andy Brown has been suspended from the Labour Party pending the outcome of the investigation.

“We have taken the decision to withdraw our support from a parliamentary candidate during a parliamentary election.

“Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer transformed the Labour Party and said every candidate and MP would work to the highest standards. This action shows they meant it.”

“We got rid of him”

Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said it was “absolutely right” that Mr Brown was suspended.

Ms Reeves told Sky News: “I had never heard of this guy until this morning and I’m very, very glad that I hopefully won’t have to hear from him again as he’s been suspended as a Labour candidate.

“That’s absolutely right. We reacted quickly. As soon as these postings came to light, we got rid of him.”

Because the nomination deadline has passed, Mr Brown will still appear on the ballot paper as a Labour candidate, meaning that if elected on July 4, he will stand as an independent.