The Ukip member running the party’s South Thanet branch Twitter account is “no longer on the social media site” after mistaking Westminster Cathedral for a mosque. Ukip said it would “probably apologise” after misidentifying the landmark British cathedral.
The party’s South Thanet Branch replied to a tweet from the BBC’s Daily Politics show, asking why it was holding an opinion poll on whether Nigel Farage ‘has what it takes to be Prime Minister’ outside a ‘mosque’. In reply BBC reporter Giles Dilnot tweeted: “You are SO wrong you might be embarrassed by that”.
However, Ukip South Thanet demanded the location of the building, at which Dilnot pointed out it was Westminster Cathedral – the most important Catholic church in Britain.
South Thanet Branch Chairman Martyn Heale said: “The twitter account was run by a long-standing member of the branch but someone else is now running it.
“That member [who originally ran the account] is no longer on twitter. It may have caused a bit of offence to somebody somewhere but people make mistakes and the person responsible will probably apologise.”
The mistake has prompted a flurry of activity on twitter, as members use #NotAMosque to point out other things that are not mosques, including Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, a turnip, and the Teletubbies.
The cathedral, finished in 1903, was designed by British architect John Francis Bentley in a neo-Byzantine style, which is influenced by eastern architecture.
See also “Red-faced Ukip offered helping hand from Twitter after mistaking Westminster Cathedral for mosque”, Huffington Post, 27 November 2014