The Press Stories
Boris Johnson is in danger of leaving the red face after a message congratulating US President-elect Joe Biden was found to have retained traces of Donald Trump’s name.
On Saturday, the Prime Minister extended his congratulations to Mr Biden and his Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris after they were declared winners in the US election.
In a graphic attached to his Twitter post, Mr Johnson said in a statement: “Congratulations on the election of Joe Biden as President of the United States and the historic achievement of Kamala Harris.
Congratulations to Boris Johnson’s Joe Biden
Hidden words include a reference to ‘Trump’
Zooming and changing the brightness and contrast of the image reveals the exterior of the previous words
“The United States is our most important ally and I look forward to working closely on our shared priorities, from climate change to trade and security.”
However, it was found that changing the brightness and contrast of the graphic reveals the expression of what appears to be a previous statement.
You can see the word “Trump” above the word “Biden”, as well as the exteriors of other words.
A government spokesman said: “As you might expect, two statements were made in advance of the outcome of this closely contested election.
“If a technical error occurs then parts of the replacement message are embedded in the graphic background.”
SNP Westminster President Ian Blackford tweeted: “Incompetence has become the watchword of this Tory government.
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“It serves as another reminder of Boris Johnson’s close relationship with Trump, which has done so much damage.”
Meanwhile, a message was posted on the Twitter account of Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin that he had spoken with Mr Biden, but was soon removed.
Mr Martin said he had “finished a very positive call” with those elected president.
However, the message was published as an error as the phone call had not yet been arranged.
The couple then spoke Tuesday afternoon.
Mr Trump has not yet conceded defeat in the US presidential election and has repeatedly claimed to have “won” the election.
He also made unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in the election process.
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