Ryan’s messages were sent before he was elected as an MP but were reported in the Daily Mail on Sunday evening.

They appear to show Ryan, who is gay, mocking another Labour MP for his sexuality, and denigrating the vice-chairman of the local Labour Party.

In his statement, Ryan said: “I did not see every message, but I accept responsibility for not being more proactive in challenging what was said.

“I also made some comments myself which I deeply regret and would not make today and for that, I wholeheartedly apologise.”

Ryan said the WhatsApp group, reportedly called Trigger Me Timbers, was created by his “MP and former employer, Andrew Gwynne”.

He said he would co-operate fully with Labour’s investigation, which began after Gwynne’s messages were revealed.

Gwynne was suspended from the party and apologised in a statement on X for any offence caused by the “badly misjudged” comments.

In messages seen by the Mail on Sunday, Gwynne said he hoped a 72-year-old woman would soon be dead after she wrote to her local councillor about bin collections.

The councillor shared the woman’s letter with Gwynne and other Labour figures in a WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers, the newspaper reported.

The newspaper said Gwynne also joked about a constituent being “mown down” by a truck.

The former health minister also reportedly posted sexist comments about Angela Rayner, racist remarks about Labour MP Diane Abbott, and appeared to make light of antisemitism.

And he reportedly responded to a message containing the name of an American psychologist, Marshall Rosenberg, saying he sounded “too militaristic and too Jewish”, adding “Is he in Mossad?”.

Ryan’s participation in the group was reported by the paper the following day.

Following Gwynne’s sacking, a government spokesperson said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was “determined to uphold high standards of those in public office” and “will not hesitate to take action against any minister who fails to meet these standards”.

A Labour spokesperson added: “Swift action will be taken if individuals are found to have breached the high standards expected of them as Labour Party members”.