Mystery over ‘unauthorised’ rogue tweet from UK government account

The UK Civil Service shared an angry tweet after Boris Johnson held a press conference yesterday, appearing to call the government “truth twisters”.

An official British Government Twitter account appeared to criticise UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday after he supported one of his aides who travelled during coronavirus restrictions.

The UK Civil Service fired off a tweet calling unknown parties “arrogant and offensive” and “truth twisters” shortly after Mr Johnson defended his top aide Dominic Cummings on Sunday.

Mr Johnson had rejected calls from his own Conservative Party to sack Mr Cummings, who is known to have been an architect of the 2016 Brexit campaign.

Mr Cummings has come under fire for travelling hundreds of kilometres across the UK, during strict coronavirus restrictions, after his wife began suffering symptoms of the virus.

Following Mr Johnson’s press conference, the UK Civil Service tweeted: “Arrogant and offensive.

“Can you imagine having to work with these truth twisters?”

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The tweet has now been deleted.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson had defended his top aide despite pressure from within his own party to sack him. Picture: Andrew Parsons/AFP

The tweet received more than 16,000 likes and was retweeted 11,000 times before it was taken down.

“An unauthorised tweet was posted on a government channel this evening,” the UK Cabinet Office said in a statement later that evening. “The post has been removed and we are investigating the matter.” No further information was given by Cabinet.

Mr Cummings has been a highly divisive figure in British politics since masterminding the successful Brexit campaign alongside Mr Johnson.

But Mr Johnson rejected calls to sack him after he came under fire for travelling with his wife while she was suffering from symptoms of COVID-19, when the official advice was to isolate at home.

Mr Johnson said during Sunday’s news briefing he believed Cummings “acted responsibly and legally and with integrity” after the pair held crisis talks.

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Under fire aide Dominic Cummings arrives home on May 24. Picture: Peter Summers/Getty Images

“I’ve concluded that in travelling to find the right kind of childcare at the moment when both he and his wife were about to be incapacitated by coronavirus, and when he had no alternative, I think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent,” he added.

Mr Cummings was seen with his son close to his parents’ home in Durham, northeastern England, more than 400 kilometres away from his London home on March 31, the day after he himself reported suffering symptoms.

British newspapers reported he’d broken lockdown restrictions again, after he was seen in Durham a second time on April 19, days after he had returned to work in London following his first trip north.

“I think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent,” Mr Johnson said.

“And I do not mark him down for that.”

– With AFP