Ukip South Thanet member ‘no longer on Twitter’ after mistaking Westminster Cathedral for mosque

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.

Kent Online, 28 November 2014

See also “Red-faced Ukip offered helping hand from Twitter after mistaking Westminster Cathedral for mosque”, Huffington Post, 27 November 2014