SNP figures caught out by fake Brexit Secretary tweet

A number of SNP politicians have been hoodwinked by a tweet purporting to be from the new Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, in which he appears to describe Scotland as a region of England.

Dominic Raab. Picture: BBC

Ian Blackford, the party’s Westminster leader, reacted with fury at the screenshot of a tweet which it was claimed Mr Raab, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, sent yesterday.

In it, the Tory MP appears to say: “SNP need to stop playing constitutional politics with Brexit. If we work together the Conservatives will deliver a successful deal for all England’s regions, including Scotland.”

The fake tweet.

It appears that the tweet was created using an image modifying or editing software, and was shared around social media last night.

SNP MP Mr Blackford tweeted a picture of the alleged tweet, adding: “If Raab foolishly sees Scotland as a region of England it is little wonder that many of us have real concerns as to the lack of respect being shown towards Scotland and our parliament.

A DEXEU spokesman, and later Mr Raab personally, confirmed that the post was fake, adding: “no such tweet was sent.”

Mr Blackford responded directly to the Brexit Secretary, writing: “Sorry to see you were targeted in this way Dominic, appreciate you confirming it is a fake and of course I withdraw my response to this fake tweet.”

However, a number of Mr Blackford’s party colleagues were still being duped by the fake tweet as recently as this morning.

SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson shared the fake post at 9am today, commenting: “A true reflection of Tory attitude to Scotland - we are just a region of England according to UK Government’s Brexit secretary.”