MP sorry after ‘vile’ Twitter post

LICHFIELD MP Michael Fabricant has apologised after “accidentally” tweeting a Sadiq Khan cartoon showing the Mayor of London engaging in a sex act with an inflatable pig.

The tweet, which Mr Fabricant deleted and branded “vile”, caused outrage and led to calls for him to be suspended.

The caption read: “Breaking News: Trump defeats Sadiq Khan in balloon wars.”

Mr Khan gave the go-ahead for a controversial 20ft blimp of the US President as a crying baby wearing a nappy to fly near Parliament during Mr Trump’s recent visit to the UK.

Mr Fabricant (pictured) said: “I accidentally tweeted a vile picture which had been sent to me by someone I knew in connection with HMRC and Brexit. I thought it was from someone with good judgment.

“Because I was distracted in a meeting and saw it on a small iPhone, I didn’t spot what it really was.

“When I saw the picture, I thought it was just a funny cartoon of a flying pig doing something to the baby Trump blimp. This followed on from my remarks on TV about the hypocrisy of the anti-Trump demos and the ridiculous blimp.

“Instead, it was something quite different and very nasty.

“Once I realised what it was, I deleted it. All within a couple of minutes or so.

“But that was too late. I find it all particularly galling as I am a socially liberal Conservative. I would never deliberately put up a racist or Islamaphobic tweet to offend people. It’s not my style nor do I think that way. I really apologise to people I offended by my lack of attention to that picture.”