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PA Media
James McMurdock is the MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock in Essex
A former Reform UK MP is under investigation over alleged racial abuse against a Sky News journalist.
James McMurdock, who represents South Basildon and East Thurrock in Essex, is accused of starting a chain of posts on X that spelled out a racial slur on 4 August.
He appeared to deny making the post, saying his accuser, Huntingdon MP Ben Obese-Jecty, "had nothing better to do".
The Parliamentary standards commissioner is due to rule if he breached the House of Commons code of conduct.
It was investigating a potential violation of rule 11, defined as "actions causing significant damage to the reputation" to the House of Commons or its MPs.
McMurdock was elected for Reform UK in July 2024, but suspended himself after allegations emerged over loans he claimed during the pandemic and now sits as an independent MP.
Ben Obese-Jecty reported McMurdock to the Parliamentary standards commissioner
Conservative MP Obese-Jecty reported him to the standards commissioner in August, after it appeared he posted the letter "N" under an X post critical of Sky News political correspondent Mhari Aurora.
This was described by the Huntingdon MP as "a means of using a racial slur against an individual on an online platform whilst circumventing moderation".
He added: "The practice involves spelling out a racial slur vertically with each individual posting a single letter of the word in order to spell it vertically."
Other users did post single letters to spell out a slur.
'Horrendous'
Obese-Jecty accused McMurdock of deleting his post, saying it "showed a "failure to challenge poor behaviour" and "absence of moral courage".
"Having repeatedly experienced this specific type of online racial abuse myself, I am horrified that a fellow member of Parliament would apparently see this as a legitimate means of challenging a Westminster lobby journalist in a public forum," he said.
"I sincerely hope that there is a coherent and believable explanation for this horrendous action."
In response at the time, McMurdock shared a screenshot of Grok, the AI assistant on X, claiming he never posted the letter N.
The language model has been said to be inaccurate on occasions, also having praised Adolf Hitler.
McMurdock also said of Obese-Jecty: "Ben has tried to use me to enhance his status all year. It is pathetic."
McMurdock has been contacted for further comment.
