It will take place on March 24.
A standards hearing will decide whether councillor David Sedgwick broke Stockport council’s code of conduct over his involvement in the ‘Trigger Me Timbers (TMT) WhatsApp scandal. Councillor Sedgwick, who represents the Heatons North ward, was part of the group made up of Labour councillors and ex-MP Andrew Gwynne. Reports emerged in early 2025 of allegedly offensive messages made towards residents and other politicians.
A wave of suspensions from the Labour Party followed when the allegedly offensive comments from the group came out. Mr Gwynne was sacked as a government minister. The former MP for Gorton and Denton later stood down on health grounds, sparking the recent by-election won by the Green Party’s Hannah Spencer.
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Councillor Sedgwick now sits as an independent in the Stockport council chamber and has been investigated by the town hall over his role in the scandal.
A 60-page report has been published by Stockport council’s monitoring officer Vicki Bates after 11 complaints were made against Councillor Sedgwick.
The monitoring officer found that, on the balance of probabilities, David Sedgwick ‘failed to comply’ with some sections of the council’s code of conduct.
Stockport council’s report stressed that the monitoring officer ‘does not have the ability or authority to make a decision on whether there has been a breach of the Code’.
This will be a decision for the standards sub-committee meeting on March 24 at Stockport town hall.
David Sedgwick was found by the Stockport council report to have made ‘many hateful and highly inappropriate’ comments in the TMT WhatsApp group.
When approached for comment, David Sedgwick said he has written a full response to the report’s findings.
He added: “In all honesty, I don’t think there’s more to say. The report I think is fair and balanced and the response I’ve put in I think reflects that. I won’t be at the hearing as I have a meeting in London on Tuesday and Wednesday but I have submitted an introduction.”
He is referred to in the report as ‘Cllr S’.
The report sets out the council’s findings: ‘For the Code to be engaged the comments have to be made in relation to Cllr S’s capacity as a councillor.
‘There are many comments that are made by many members of the TMT WhatsApp group that would fall under the above descriptions but if they are not made by Cllr S in his capacity as a councillor then they do not fall to be considered as part of this investigation.
‘However, there are still many hateful and highly inappropriate comments in the TMT WhatsApp transcript made by Cllr S in his capacity as a councillor, which are in breach of the Code.’
One conversation published in the report focused on comments made by Councillor Sedgwick during an online council meeting in October 2020.
According to the report, David Sedgwick described another councillor as ‘absolutely crackers’ and said ‘I reckon he’s one for Operation Yew Tree’.
Operation Yewtree was led by the Metropolitan Police in 2012 to investigate allegations of child sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile and others.
In the same conversation, David Sedgwick was asked who might be watching the online meeting, and he shared the name of a resident and Stockport Labour club name – which were redacted in the report – and then added a message saying ‘assorted weirdos’, according to the council investigation.
The report highlighted other conversations and allegations of offensive messages.
It went on to say: ‘There are two references to a local MP being called “Special Needs [redated name]” but those comments are not clearly linked to Cllr S acting in his capacity as a councillor.
‘There is continual bullying of this MP throughout the transcript in terms of his appearance by various members of the group. However, as this relates to Parliament and the Labour Party rather than in Cllr S’s capacity as a councillor, this is not a breach of the Code.’
Stockport council’s report stated that David Sedgwick called the monitoring offer in February 2025 to self-refer himself in relation to the allegations published about him in the press about the scandal.
It added: ‘Evidence has been provided in the complaints / complaint forms to support, on the balance of probabilities (more than 50 per cent chance of establishing) the alleged breaches of the following seven sections of the Code.’
David Sedgwick submitted a response to Stockport council’s investigation.
He explained that he has ‘served as an elected member for many years’ and had ‘been a member of the Labour Party for more than twenty-one years’ without being referred to the standards committee until now.
He said that he has approached the process with ‘seriousness, respect for the Members’ Code of Conduct, and a clear understanding of my responsibilities as a councillor.’
Councillor Sedgwick said the ‘overwhelming majority of the approximately 50,000 messages exchanged in the group related to lawful political discussion, council business, campaigning activity, and informal social interaction.’
He continued: ‘I acknowledge that certain comments made within the group, when viewed in isolation and without context, fall below the standards expected in public office if they were to be expressed in a public forum.
‘I express genuine contrition for those instances and accept responsibility where my judgement fell short or when I did not challenge others.’
He concluded his statement: ‘This response asks that the matters under investigation be assessed in the round: taking account of context, proportionality, my long-standing and otherwise unblemished record of public service, the exceptional circumstances of the period in question, and the limited proportion of messages now under scrutiny relative to the total body of communications.
‘I remain committed to the highest standards of conduct, to accountability, and to continuing to serve my community with integrity.’

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