Diane Abbott slammed for ‘dishonest’ bombing tweet
DIANE Abbott has been criticised for using a fake image of a bombing raid in a social media post about Syria.
The shadow home secretary dismissed the row over her use of the picture as “pathetic”.
The Labour frontbencher used the image in a post attacking International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt, who defended the Government’s refusal to hold a parliamentary vote before launching air strikes in response to the chemical weapons attack at Douma.
Twitter users pointed out that the image Ms Abbott used was a composite showing what a fictional Israeli air strike in Tehran might look like.
But Ms Abbott dismissed the criticism, saying: “Apparently, my use of this pic is ‘important news’. Yes, UK goes to war without UN approval or even parliamentary debate.
“But the most important news is what pics I use in a tweet. Pathetic.”
The RAF’s involvement in Saturday’s joint operation with the US and France saw Tornado jets target the Him Sinshar chemical weapons storage site.
Tory MP James Cleverly said Ms Abbott had undermined her case by using a “deeply dishonest image” and accused her of “anti-West prejudice”.
He added: “To imply that this was an attack on civilian homes, as the picture does, is a vile misrepresentation and dishonours the RAF personnel involved.”