Some may find the language quoted in this article offensive.
A top Reform figure in Merseyside has been called on to apologise for ‘toxic’ private Whatsapp messages in which he called Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy a “ret****d”. But he has stood by his use of such language after his messages were leaked from a Whatsapp chat linked to the party.
Messages seen by an LDRS reporter show disgusting language
The LDRS has seen messages from inside a group chat called Wirral Patriots Forum that appears to be linked to Wirral Reform. Local party chairman David Burgess-Joyce and former Reform candidate Ken Ferguson are both admins while one message said “getting reform [sic] elected is the main purpose”.
In one message attributed to Mr Burgess-Joyce in a discussion around the economy, he said “Labour’s back-bench ret**ds” were “failing to realise other peoples’ money runs out”, before adding: “Let’s hope Nigel declares a state of emergency on day one.”
In response to comments made by Mr Lammy about Reform leader Nigel Farage in 2025, a second message linked to Mr Burgess-Joyce said: “I don’t believe I have ever been so disgusted with the Labour party as I was yesterday. Even Corbyn, for all his many faults, would never have stooped so low.”
He referred to “the ret****d Lammy”, adding: “To accuse Nigel of flirting with the Hitler Youth, an entity that died 19 years before he was born, is beyond belief. These people are running this country…”
Highly offensive name calling
The word in question was historically used in a medical context but is now considered obsolete and a highly offensive epithet used to describe someone with an intellectual disability.
Another message seen by the LDRS appears to refer to Mr Lammy again while he was Foreign Secretary. This message, again attributed to Mr Burgess-Joyce, said: “These pygmies use your money to ingratiate themselves on the world stage.
“It is a common trait of ineffectual politicians to spend their time abroad, dealing with spurious issues. It also helps them when out of office, on the well-paid speaking circuit.
“Of all the insults the British people have had to endure by this Marxist government this moron as Foreign Secretary is the most egregious”.
Pygmies can be an offensive and derogatory term used to describe “an abnormally undersized person” or “a person of little importance or significance”. The term is also used to describe certain ethnic groups in central Africa, although such useage is often considered pejorative.
Chairman of Wirral Reform UK
When asked about the messages, Mr Burgess-Joyce said: “To dispel any confusion, I am the chairman of Wirral Reform UK, not the chairman of the David Lammy Appreciation Society!
“I believe this government to be utterly incompetent, and an embarrassment to Britain on the international stage. Lammy has, in my opinion, just like all the other members of the front bench, precious little ability to run our great country well, and who has clearly enjoyed the trappings and lifestyle of occupying one of the great offices of state.
“As a politician, he is not immune from any criticism by a member of the public, such as me, on a private forum, and I shall continue to do so until he is removed from office.”
A Wirral Labour spokesperson said: “This is exactly the type of toxic rhetoric Reform have become synonymous with. Mr Burgess-Joyce should apologise.”
Not the first time Mr Burgess-Joyce has a go at Mr Lammy
This is not the first time Mr Burgess-Joyce has landed in hot water over a comment he made about Mr Lammy. When he was a Conservative councillor in 2019, Mr Burgess-Joyce accused Mr Lammy “of doing more damage to community cohesion than any Klu Klux Klan member”.
Mr Burgess-Joyce later told a standards panel he “may have been fatigued and troubled by a family bereavement at the time of the tweet” but the panel said the tweet was “highly inflammatory at a time of political tensions”. He was temporarily suspended as a Conservative at the time and later apologised.
By Local Democracy reporter Ed Barnes.
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