Nadine Dorries retweet branded ‘dangerous’ by MP as Tory leader’s campaign goes awry | Political news

A retweet by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, showing Rishi Sunak stabbing Boris Johnson in the back, has been deemed “dangerous” by a fellow Conservative MP.

The painting with the faces of the prime minister and former prime minister was imposed on the face of the Roman leader Julius Ceasar and the man who conspired against and killed him, Brutus.

Greg Hands, who is backing the former prime minister in the Tory leadership race, told Sky News the social media post was “appalling”, especially after the fatal stabbing of Southend MP Sir David Amess in his constituency last year.

“It’s been less than a year since Sir David was stabbed…so I think this tastes very, very bad, even dangerous,” he said.

“I’m really disgusted and I find it, less than a year after our colleague’s stabbing, to taste very, very bad, even dangerous.”

But an ally of Ms Dorries, who is backing Liz Truss in the leadership race, said: “Clearly it’s a satirical image of Brutus and Ceasar, clearly edited for political commentary. .

“There are similar cartoons related to [Michael] Gove in 2016. Some people will of course want to be intentionally offended. “

The Culture Minister has been a staunch defender of the prime minister, and a fierce critic of those who contributed to his downfall.

This is not the first time she has caused controversy on social media when she tweeted last week about the price of Mr. Sunak’s suit compared to the earrings of the foreign secretary from Claire’s Accessories.

She also wrote a damning article in the Daily Mail on Saturday, accusing Mr Sunak of “planning a coup for a very long time” and saying she had commented on how to eat. worn by him to “warn Tory members not to appear the way it did. to many of us who served with the prime minister in the Cabinet”.

Ms Dorries added: “The killer’s beaming smile, soft voice and even his small stature have left many of us well-understood and truly deceived.”

But Mr Hands said the increasingly stiff competition to be the next Tory leader – and prime minister of the UK – needed to be “combated on issues and leadership qualities” by the two candidates. candidate, rather than insults.

Northern Ireland Minister Brandon Lewis, who is supporting Ms Truss, during the campaign said the post did not represent the Foreign Secretary’s views, adding: “It’s certainly not the kind of thing I would tweet.”

He told Sky News that Ms Dorries is “famous for having strong views on things” and “speaks for herself”, but said: “I think we all have to make sure we remember that we We are one side, we come back together, we work together.

“We’re going to have different perspectives, and what the leadership campaign has in common is that both the candidate and their team map out their differences of opinion so that members can then choose who they want to be. considered the best person to lead the party and lead our country.”

Meanwhile, candidates are continuing to push their policy towards Conservative membershipWho will start voting this week.

Mr Sunak has pledged to introduce a temporary £10 fine for NHS patients who fail to attend GP appointments, while Ms Truss describes herself as the “prime minister of education” with a scheme including replacing failed academies with “a new wave of free schools.”

The pair will campaign over the summer, with some discussions and debates live on Sky News, hosted by Kay Burley.

Winners will then be announced on September 5 and are expected to move to Number 10 a day later.