Jared O’Mara: Quit Labour as he felt unwelcome.
British MPJared O’Mara has quit the Labour Party saying he had been ‘made unfairly to feel like a criminal’ since returning.
The Sheffield Hallam MP was suspended last year after a series of sexist and homophobic postings from his past came to light.
Newly elected: O’Mara was only elected last year and barely appeared in Parliament before suspension
In an open letter to his constituents, O’Mara said he didn’t feel he’d been listened to or faced a fair investigation.
‘I am of the opinion that the Labour Party no longer shares my commitment to the true definition of equality and compassion.
O’Mara had previously apologized for sexist and homophobic comments
‘There is no doubt that I made mistakes as a young man using distasteful language as a clumsy attempt at satire and sarcasm online. But that does not mean that is who I am today.’
Jared reactions: O’Mara apologized for comments and was reinstated, before resigning.
He was readmitted to the party earlier this month after receiving a formal warning. The party’s national executive committee disputes panel ruled the case didn’t merit O’Mara’s expulsion. However, it did recommend that he should undergo mandatory training.
The Daily Mail reported that the MP said he had made three suicide attempts at the height of the furore.
Despite quitting the Labour party, O’Mara suggested he will not be stepping down as an MP. ‘I might be leaving Labour but I am still at your side’, the newspaper quoted him as saying.
O’Mara won his seat in 2017 and had barely entered Parliament when details of his previous comments emerged. These included inviting the band Girls Aloud to an orgy and joking about musician Jamie Cullum being ‘sodomised to death’.
The 36-year-old politician, who has autism, asked people ‘to go on the internet and read about autism, and about my other disabilities; clinical depression, cerebral palsy and anxiety’.
‘We’re disappointed Jared has decided to resign from Labour after we won the Sheffield Hallam seat from Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems last year’, the BBC quoted a Labour Party spokesman as saying.
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