Ukip shares photo of ‘campaigners in Stoke on Trent’ ahead of Thursday’s by-election – but picture was ACTUALLY taken in Bolton
UKIP has been mocked after it was caught tweeting a photo of supporters supposedly campaigning in Stoke on Trent - when the photo was ACTUALLY taken in Bolton.
Eagle-eyed social media users were quick to point out the error online as the party seeks to take the Labour seat later this week.
The tweet, sent on Saturday morning, showed a group of campaigners with Ukip placards.
It is captioned "in Stoke on Trend here to campaign for @paulnuttallukip" - the party leader who is standing to be an MP in Stoke.
The party could take the seat on Thursday if traditional Labour voters - who also backed Brexit - opt for Ukip instead.
But people on Twitter were quick to point out that the photo was taken in Bolton, where the party was holding its spring conference this week, and NOT Stoke.
One of Ukip's press officers confirmed the mistake in a tweet - and said it was taken as the team left Bolton for Stoke.
A Ukip spokesman said: "Fakery be damned. Photo sent to our digital team, they thought it was when the activists got to Stoke, it was in fact when they were about to set off to Stoke.
"Definitely cock-up rather than conspiracy territory.
"You can rest assured that the guilty party has already been sent to Devil's Island where they will be force-fed gruel and made to chant 'I must check before tweeting' whilst hammering tin tacks into their fingertips."
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The news comes as Mr Nuttall faced accusations that he had made up claims about losing a close friend in the Hillsborough football disaster.
The MEP insisted that he hadn't made the remarks - despite a statement appearing on his website in 2011.
At the time he wrote: “Revealing the facts on Hillsborough is hardly a matter of national security, it is a matter of natural justice.
“Without them being made public we will never get to the bottom of that appalling tragedy when 96 Liverpool fans, including close personal friends of mine, lost their lives.”
The Ukip leader has since spoken out, saying he was the victim of an "evil smear campaign" after the fiasco.
Speaking at the party's conference on Friday, Mr Nuttall appeared to weep after he defended the remarks.
Mr Nuttall said: “Many of you will have noticed that I’ve had a bit of a difficult week.”
He added: “I take the blame for the fact that I failed to check what was put on my website in my name. That is my fault and I apologise.”
