It’s been a while since we’ve had a good old-fashioned scandal about tweets someone posted years ago.
Step forward new Rochester and Strood Labour MP Lauren Edwards, who has had to apologise after tweets featuring racist and ableist language were dug up and shared around on social media.
The tweets, which date from 2009 to 2011, feature phrases like “fucking estonian retards”, talk about elbowing a homeless man in the ribs, and question the sexuality of Conservative politician William Hague.
Inevitably, as the tweets started to circulate, the obligatory apology post appeared:
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.
Significant error of judgment is one way of describing these, but Edwards wouldn’t be the first politician to be caught out by questionable comments from the past.
Things peaked on Friday when Twitter owner and Lex Luthor cosplayer Elon Musk amplified the tweets in response to Edwards’ apology, which likely wasn’t on her list of things to happen a month after becoming an MP.
Edwards’ quickly deleted her account, leaving users checking her profile finding a rather apt ‘Something went wrong’ message.
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