Reeves ‘very pleased’ about Labour candidate’s suspension for pro-Russian comments

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was “very, very pleased” at the suspension of a Labour candidate after he appeared to downplay the country’s role in the Salisbury poisonings in pro-Russian posts.

Andy Brown was expelled from the party in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency after reports emerged that he had shared an article by Russian state media company RT claiming that the “poison” 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 former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia and former police officer Nick Bailey, who were poisoned in nearby Salisbury in March of the same year.

All three survived, as did Ms. Sturgess’s boyfriend, Charlie Rowley.

Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Ms Reeves said: “I had never heard of this man until this morning and I am very, very glad that I hope I don’t have to hear from him again as he has been suspended as a Labour candidate.”

“That is absolutely right. We reacted quickly.

“As soon as these postings came to light, we got rid of him.”

She added: “People who do not share our values ​​in the changed Labour Party will be thrown out of the Labour Party, while the Conservative Party continues to host people like Liz Truss, who has done so much damage to the lives of working people across the country.”

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 in the Labour Party and outside the party reject the fact that Jeremy Corbyn is a consistent supporter of Palestinian rights.”

Despite his suspension by the party, Brown will still appear on the ballot paper due to the July 4 nomination deadline, but he will not receive the support of the Labour Party.

A Scottish Labour Party spokesman said: “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.”

The Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency has been in the news in recent weeks after Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross reneged on his promise to step down from Westminster to take up the candidacy of former MP David Duguid, who had been in hospital for some time.

The backlash led to Mr Ross announcing that he would step down as party leader after the July 4 election.