WHAT is it with Tories and social media accounts? It is almost a daily occurrence that one of their MPs or councillors posts something racist, xenophobic or sexist.
Today it is the turn of Michael Fabricant, Tory MP for Lichfield in Staffordshire.
READ MORE: Tory councillors agree to delete Twitter accounts after a spate of offensive comments
READ MORE: 15 Scottish Tories who have revealed their bigoted side
Joining in with the Twitter spat between lovers and haters of Trump – ongoing since the president touched down in the UK yesterday – Fabricant joined in by posting an image of an inflatable pig sodomising an inflatable Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, accompanied by an image of Trump laughing.
The tweet has now been deleted and in response to those calling for the MP to be sacked for the tweet, he has responded by saying that he "accidentally" posted the image because he was "distracted in a meeting" and he only saw it on a "tiny iPhone screen".
His barely believable explanation added that the tweet was only online "a couple of minutes or so". In truth, it was online for over an hour.
— Michael Fabricant (@Mike_Fabricant) July 13, 2018
Things got even worse for the Tory MP today when C4 News FactCheck noticed an apartheid flag on his mantlepiece while he was being interviewed.
Hi @Mike_Fabricant, what is this flag on your mantelpiece? @FactCheck pic.twitter.com/kS9SKDPNGi
— C4 News FactCheck (@FactCheck) July 13, 2018
He calls himself a "socially liberal Conservative".
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel