Labour MP Dawn Butler 'reports Mumsnet to police' over Brianna Ghey backlash

22 December 2023 , 21:19

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Dawn Butler has said she would report Mumsnet to the police (Image: Getty Images)

Labour MP Dawn Butler says she will report Mumsnet to the police after she was blasted by users over Brianna Ghey comments.

The Brent Central MP claimed that she received replies from “nasty, vicious, inhumane” people on the message board following the conviction of a boy and a girl over the 16-year-old’s murder on Wednesday. Ms Butler suggested on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the murder was a result of transphobia that had become worse by the present government.

Two teens, who have only been named as girl X and boy Y were found guilty for the “frenzied” killing of Brianna. She was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back after being lured to Linear Park, Culcheth, a village near Warrington, Cheshire, on the afternoon of February 11.

After the teens were convicted, Ms Butler shared a video of Brianna's father Peter Spooner outside court on X. She wrote: “Heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking. Listening to this father’s love for his trans daughter Brianna is powerful. This cruel government has created so much hate towards the trans community they should be ashamed.”

Two teenagers have been found guilty of murdering Brianna Ghey (PA)

But people on Mumsnet criticised her for “virtue signalling” and “crowbarring”. One person said that she had “weaponised the brutal murder of a child and people have rightly called you out on that”, another accused her of “political point scoring”.

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Ms Butler hit back by saying that she was going to report Mumsnet to the police over the replies. “Oh I wondered where these nasty vicious inhumane people were coming from. Time for me to unfollow and report Mumsnet to @metpoliceuk,” she said.

This in turn has led to the Labour MP being attacked with people saying that they were entitled to express their opinion. One person said: “People criticised you for making wholly inappropriate remarks at the conclusion of a horrible murder case. You do know that criticising politicians for their public utterances is not actually illegal?”

Peter Spooner speaking outside court (AFP via Getty Images)

Speaking outside Manchester Crown Court following the murder verdicts, Brianna's dad Mr Spooner said: “I hate how her life has been brutally taken away from her and she’s been deprived of the life she wanted to live.

“It’s difficult to comprehend how some people can do these vile things in the world and don’t understand how cruel and heartbreaking their actions can be. The impact of Brianna’s death has not just affected me as her father, but also my whole family. My heart bleeds every day for Brianna and this will never go away and the amount of guilt I have can sometimes be unbearable, but I will ensure her memory lives on in my thoughts and dreams.”

He also said Brianna had “an amazing talent” which she enjoyed sharing with friends and family. “I look into her eyes and they shine back at me,” he said. “And I know she was a beautiful girl to be proud of” he stated, while telling how it "breaks" him every day to know he will not see his daughter again.

‌“We spoke a few days before she was taken from me and we were arranging to meet each other. It breaks me every day to know I’ll never get that chance again," he said. “I wish I’d been there to protect her. That’s something I must live with. The suffering from this horrific incident should never happen and I hope no other family ever experiences the torture this can bring.”

Tim Hanlon