Tory mocked as he claims he doesn't know how his defence warning tweet vanished

14 March 2023 , 12:40

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Tory mocked as he claims he doesn't know how his defence warning tweet vanished

Security minister Tom Tugendhat has been mocked after a car-crash exchange with Susanna Reid and Ed Balls over a mysteriously deleted tweet.

The top Tory claimed not to know how Twitter worked as he was questioned on why a tweet he sent calling for increased defence spending had disappeared.

Mr Tugendhat had demanded in the post that 3% of national income go on the budgets of the defence and intelligence services.

But after Rishi Sunak said yesterday the government only has an "aspiration" to reach 2.5%, it emerged the tweet had been taken down.

Questioned on where it had gone as he appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Mr Tugendhat denied deleting it.

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But Ms Reid said: "You're security minister in the Home Office, I'm just interested to know - social media is a risky place, we know. Someone's deleted that tweet for a reason."

Tom Tugendhat has been mocked after the car crash interview this morning (ITV)

In the excruciating exchange the Home Office minister - who stood for the Tory leadership last summer after Boris Johnson quit - said: "I'm afraid I have no idea how the Twitter system works so I don't know whether it's there or not, I'll have to look,"

He then appeared to blame the "many people who work in my office".

"I personally didn't delete any tweets," Mr Tugendhat spluttered - but was unable to explain why it had vanished.

Labour has branded the Tory Home Office team "incompetent" - after Suella Braverman claimed not to have seen an email sent out in her name last week.

The Conservative Party sent out the message purportedly from the Home Office blaming civil servants for her failure to tackle the small boat crisis.

Ms Braverman later claimed to have had no knowledge of it after it sparked outrage.

It comes hot on the heels of a Home Office email blunder when a message signed by Suella Braverman was sent out last week (Leon Neal/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Following Mr Tugendhat's interview this morning, Labour MP Nick Smith said: "We've now got a Security Minister who doesn't know who's deleting his Tweets to go with a Home Secretary who doesn't know who's sending out her emails.

"This bunch of Home Office ministers can't even work out how to use a computer, let alone how to fix our asylum system.

"The sooner we get rid of the whole incompetent lot of them, the better."

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Last week's email, which had Ms Braverman's signature on it said: "We tried to stop boat crossings without changing our laws.

"But an activist blob of left-wing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour Party blocked us."

Downing Street later said she "did not see, sign off or sanction" an email sent out to Tory members in her name attacking civil servants.

The Prime Minister's press secretary told reporters: "The Home Secretary did not see that email before it went out.

"She did not see, sign off or sanction that email being sent out."

Dave Burke