Tory MP describes badly edited campaign photo he tweeted as “embarrassing”

Conservative MP Jack Lopresti tweeted a crudely edited campaign photo of Tory canvassers over the weekend – and described it to LabourList as “clearly rather embarrassing” after it was highlighted that the image had been poorly altered.

The MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke tweeted the image on Saturday afternoon accompanied by the message: “Great morning out campaigning with our local Conservatives team. Lots of support for the PM Boris Johnson.”

The photo seems to have been edited to include an additional Conservative Party placard, which appears above the heads of the campaigners with nobody holding it, and to include a green patch in what appears to be an attempt to add foliage.

Other users of the platform were quick to pick up on the alterations. One asked: “Objectively one of the worse edits, how did this happen and why?” Another described it as “dodgy photoshopping”. Several advised the MP to delete the tweet.

Contacted for comment by LabourList, Lopresti described the situation as “clearly rather embarrassing”. He said the photo had been shared by another Tory activist, adding: “At first glance, the photo looked fine, so I used it in my own tweet which reflected the mood and campaigning activity of the day.”

But the Filton and Bradley Stoke MP said he was subsequently contacted on Sunday morning, the day after the bizarre image appeared in his feed, by a local party executive who “brought the matter of the alteration of the photo to my attention”.

Lopresti told LabourList: “Given that the photo and tweet had been up for over 24 hours and people had had the opportunity to comment, I thought I would leave it in place. Rest assured the individual who made this unfortunate mistake has been spoken to by a senior member of the party.”