TORY MPs including Health Minister Nadine Dorries have come under fire for sharing an edited video of Keir Starmer from a "far-right" Twitter account.
The video, which had been selectively edited in an apparent attempt to discredit the Labour leader, was shared by two other Tory MPs.
The three MPs have now deleted the tweets or locked their accounts.
The Channel 5 footage, dating from Sir Keir’s time as director of public prosecutions in 2013, was taken from an announcement of new guidelines on charging grooming gangs.
But it had been edited to remove the start of the interview where he was asked to give examples of the “wrong approach”, making him appear to justify failing to believe child victims.
In the original video Starmer said: "The assumptions that were made included the assumption that a victim of child sexual abuse will swiftly report what happened to them to the police, will be able to give a very coherent and consistent account the first time, that they will not themselves have engaged in any offending or other behaviour and that they will not have misued drugs or alcohol at any stage.
"Those assumptions do not withstand scrutiny, they've got to change. The guidelines make that clear and so this is a clear break with the past."
Dorries shared the tweet on Thursday morning with the caption “shameful”.
Lucy Allan, the Conservative MP for Telford, posted the same tweet shortly after midnight and wrote: “This .....suggests a total failure to understand grooming, a dismissive attitude towards CSE [child sexual exploitation] victims and a belief that the victims brought it on themselves.”
Maria Caulfield, the MP for Lewes and an assistant government whip, shared the video with the caption: “True face of the Labour leader, shameful.”
The edited video was viewed more than 239,000 before the @NJamesWorld account was suspended.
Downing Street said the MPs have been "reminded of their responsibility to check the validity of information before they post".
Downing Street: The MPs involved have been spoken to by the whips' office and reminded of their responsibility to check the validity of information before they post https://t.co/BCjTjZdUxb
— Nick Eardley (@nickeardleybbc) May 14, 2020
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