John McDonnell refuses to apologise for repeating calls for Esther McVey to be ‘lynched’ John McDonnell once again refused to apologise for repeating comments that called for Cabinet minister Esther McVey to be “lynched”. […]

John McDonnell once again refused to apologise for repeating comments that called for Cabinet minister Esther McVey to be “lynched”.

The Shadow Chancellor was recorded during an event in 2014, in which he said people in Liverpool were using the violent language about Ms McVey, who was employment minister at the time.

Mr McDonnell’s comments have resurfaced after the Tory MP was promoted to Work and Pensions Secretary this month, with Commons leader Andrea Leadsom branding them “truly evil”.

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Lynching the b*****d

Appearing at a comedy night organised by the Stop the War Coalition on Remembrance Sunday in 2014, Mr McDonnell quoted an activist who had shouted that instead of sacking Ms McVey, Labour should be “lynching the b*****d”.

But the Labour frontbencher insisted he was quoting other people so he has nothing to apologise for.

He told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show: “I’m surprised at Andrea. I like her, she’s a good woman.”

Mr McDonnell said he had not been quoting the comments approvingly.

“It was a stand up thing and I was saying, look, this is how rough politics is up there.”

Mr McDonnell said he had previously “refuted completely” when MPs “misinterpreted it” and insisted he did “not wish harm to anybody”.

Mr Marr asked the shadow chancellor if he wanted him to play the audio of the comments.

“You don’t need to, I know exactly what was on it,” he replied.

The show’s producers took the decision not to play the audio.

No harm

The Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington claimed he had already set the record straight on his comments at the time. “In parliament, when people misinterpreted it I got up and said: ‘Of course I don’t support this. And I wish harm on nobody.”

“And that was accepted,” he added.

Asked if he would apologise to Ms McVey, he replied: “It is for those people who made that statement if they wish to make that apology.”

Ms Leadsom last week condemned Mr McDonnell, saying: “This is truly evil. Utterly disgusting. The laughter about launching a campaign against Esther McVey and the guffaws about killing her. Seriously? Is this Jeremy Corbyn ’s kinder, gentler politics? This has to stop.”

James Cleverly MP, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “John McDonnell has demonstrated yet again why Labour are not fit to govern.

“In the course of a single interview, we see Labour have no plan for Brexit, won’t say what their reckless renationalisation scheme would cost taxpayers, and despite promising ‘kinder, gentler politics’, the Shadow Chancellor has today repeatedly refused to apologise for sickening abuse.”