In further proof that politicians should just not tell jokes, an MSP has come under fire for a ‘joke’ in which he called for tanks to be rolled out to deal with climate protesters.
Mid Scotland and Fife politician Murdo Fraser’s comments, made on Twitter on Saturday, come ahead of the COP26 climate change conference, which takes place in Glasgow in November.
Responding to a tweet from RAF Luton about “the world’s first environmentally friendly battery-powered driverless tank”, Fraser wrote: “Great to see this, hopefully we will see it deployed on Glasgow streets to deal with protesters during COP26. Really good it’s eco-friendly.”
However, the bio of the RAF Luton profile reveals that it is the “assumed official Twitter account of the world’s most mysterious and secret (and fictitious) military base”. In other words, it’s a “parody/satire account”.
While a follow-up tweet from Fraser suggests he knew of this (The National have indeed written up a piece on the post), unfortunately for him, many Twitter users didn’t see the funny side:
@murdo_fraser Great idea. We'll "borrow" it to deploy against Go Home vans.— Mhairi Hunter (@Mhairi Hunter) 1628370541
@murdo_fraser There’s an elected official of the Scottish parliament and member of the UK governing party hoping pr… https://t.co/AInnMch1hL— Дан Diplodicus🦕(Join a Union)🇮🇹🏆🏴 (@Дан Diplodicus🦕(Join a Union)🇮🇹🏆🏴) 1628365767
@murdo_fraser That's a ridiculous thing to say, ppl have the right to protest without the threat of tanks. Do you n… https://t.co/zD8nuiYWjJ— daz boot (@daz boot) 1628362136
@murdo_fraser Aww is that you attention seeking again son 🚀— Katie FBSI #YesScots 🏴 (@Katie FBSI #YesScots 🏴) 1628370468
As an organiser for the protests in Glasgow during COP26, I am so loving this energy. All I’ve ever wanted is an ec… https://t.co/nMLYikqEsG— Dylan Hamilton🏴🌍 (@Dylan Hamilton🏴🌍) 1628369609
Meanwhile, others pointed out that he may have fallen for the trick from RAF Luton:
@murdo_fraser I gather @RAF_Luton will be working with the navy who are deploying HMS Hook, HMS Line and HMS Sinker… https://t.co/SreTsSflFM— Neil O'Doherty Ⓥ 🤘🌍🚄🚴⚛️☮️🔬⚡💉💉💉 (@Neil O'Doherty Ⓥ 🤘🌍🚄🚴⚛️☮️🔬⚡💉💉💉) 1628410173
@murdo_fraser Needless to say, this is a spoof. No such tank exists, nor could it.— Simon fae Standingstone ::🏴🇪🇺🌍:: (@Simon fae Standingstone ::🏴🇪🇺🌍::) 1628367378
Okay I can’t tell if he’s been duped by the fake account or he’s trying to make a joke either way a politician real… https://t.co/utFg98Y17u— C Thomas Graham (@C Thomas Graham) 1628420404
Epic! Murdo fell for @RAF_Luton Scramble (sorry Sophie) the Eurovision Typhoon display team for a celebratory fly p… https://t.co/1cfa2OGou0— Gregor Clark 🏴 (@Gregor Clark 🏴) 1628369497