Probe ordered after UK’S civil service posts mystery tweet

LONDON: Minutes after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson ended his briefing on Sunday evening, defending chief adviser Dominic Cummings’ actions seen as a breach of lockdown rules, a tweet appeared on the official handle of UK Civil Service.

The tweet said, “Arrogant and offensive. Can you imagine having to work with these truth twisters?” Within seconds, it was retweeted by tens of thousands of people, drawing comments and likes.

Minutes after it was posted, the tweet was deleted and an investigation was ordered into it. The British cabinet office said, “An unauthorised tweet was posted on a government channel this evening. The post has been removed and we are investigating the matter.”

By then, twitterati had run away with it, with many sharing screen shots of the tweet, and some even hailing the person who had posted it. The identity of the writer remains unknown.

The BBC reported the tweet, as did other news organisations. Some critics said that the government was quick to order an investigation into the tweet, but not into the conduct of Cummings.

Before the mysterious tweet appeared, Johnson was speaking at a widely-watched Downing Street briefing addressing calls from various people seeking Cummings’ resignation.