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| Minister Matthew Hancock sorry for 'queers' retweet | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| A Conservative minister has apologised for sharing a poem on Twitter which suggested the Labour Party was "full of queers". | A Conservative minister has apologised for sharing a poem on Twitter which suggested the Labour Party was "full of queers". |
| Business Minister Matthew Hancock said his retweet had been an "accident" and described the comment as "offensive". | |
| The MP for Suffolk West shared a few poems on his Twitter page to coincide with National Poetry Day on Thursday. | The MP for Suffolk West shared a few poems on his Twitter page to coincide with National Poetry Day on Thursday. |
| Labour MP Chris Bryant wrote on Twitter that the comment was "vile" and Mr Hancock should be sacked. | Labour MP Chris Bryant wrote on Twitter that the comment was "vile" and Mr Hancock should be sacked. |
| Mr Hancock did not write the comment, but it was contained in a limerick criticising the Labour Party, which he shared on his Twitter page. | |
| The verse in full said: "The party run by young Ed / Is quietly going quite dead / Bereft of ideas / Quite full of queers / No wonder the faithful have fled." | |
| The MP received criticism on Twitter, including this from Mr Bryant, a shadow work and pensions minister, who wrote: "Amazed @matthancockmp sends vile tweet about "queers". Cameron shd sack him now." | |
| Mr Hancock, who has more than 17,000 followers on Twitter, later tweeted a message saying: "Previous RT was a total accident. I wholeheartedly disagree with offensive comment in the tweet & am incredibly sorry for any offence caused." |