Greg Evans
Dec 08, 2023
BBC News
The Conservative Party has sparked a row amongst its own MPs after it used an image of a BBC News presenter accidentally swearing on air for a meme.
In case you missed the story, footage of news reader Maryam Moshiri went viral on Thursday when she was caught flashing her middle finger at the camera at the very beginning of her broadcast.
Moshiri did later apologise for the mishap but it hasn't stopped the image of her middle finger being shared far and wide online, so much so that it has become a meme...well, for the Conservative party at least.
On Thursday afternoon the Tory party X/Twitter account used the image to take a swipe at Labour over the continuing debate surrounding immigration.
In the post, they wrote: "Labour when you ask for their plans to tackle illegal migration.” They in theory were implying that Labour didn't support their attempts to control migration, which is somewhat correct.
However, the nature of the post has caused a rift between Tory MPs with many including Alicia Kearns, Tobias Ellwood and Fay Jones feeling that it was "beneath us."
In contrast, the always outspoken Jonathan Gullis couldn't get enough of it saying "I approve this message" in response.
Journalist Kevin Schofield pointed out that the two reactions to the post of emblematic of the current 'civil war' the party is facing as it trials in polls ahead of the next general election.
Comedian and writer Danny Wallace had a far more scathing reaction. He wrote: "When I was a kid, Tory voters were seen as pompous, selfish and greedy.
“But not childish and dumb. Having turned so many previous voters away, the @Conservatives are reduced to this: focussing on the leftover dregs. Appealing only to the mean and the stupid.”
Needless to say this little BBC error is causing headaches not just for them but for the government too.
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