Woman mocked as 'Jabba the Hutt' in WhatsApp group which included Labour councillors and MP caseworkers, leaked messages show

A Whatsapp group in which a woman was mocked as looking like ‘Jabba the Hutt’ included Labour councillors and employees of Stockport MP Nav Mishra, it has emerged. A leaked screenshot shows Kev Dolan, an official with public service union Unison, cruelly comparing the constituent to the grotesque villain from the Star Wars movies.

The comment, which reads ‘not a good picture feeding her face reminds me of Jabba the Hut (sic)’, was made about a Stockport Labour party member. We are not naming the individual but an unedited image has been seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Mr Dolan is a supporter of Mr Mishra and was on the panel that selected him as Labour’s candidate for the Stockport constituency at the 2019 election.

While they do not engage with the comment or contribute anything untoward, the screengrab appears to show the WhatsApp group includes three Stockport councillors. These are Coun Janet Mobbs and Coun Charlie Stewart - both caseworkers for Mr Mishra - and Coun Sue Glithero. The name of Chris Gleeson - another caseworker based at Mr Mishra’s office is also shown - although he also does not appear to respond or add anything offensive. READ MORE : Stockport councillor thrown out of Tory party for Twitter posts 'deemed discriminatory towards those of the Islamic faith'

The Labour Party rulebook states that a ‘starting point for all our actions as members of a party and a movement is to treat all people with dignity and respect. This applies to all our dealings with people, offline and online.’ The leaked image - a redacted version of which has also been shared on social media - has prompted Stockport council’s Labour group to launch an investigation.

Councillor Kate Butler told the Local