No 10 mocked on Instagram after using the Republic of Ireland flag in a post about a Downing Street event celebrating Northern Irish culture
- No. 10 ended the post with an emoji of the tricolor Irish flag
No10 was mocked on Instagram after accidentally using the Irish flag in a post about Northern Irish culture.
The official account posted photos from last night’s event in Downing Street, hosted by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, showing two women dancing in front of No. 10.
It said “businesses from across Northern Ireland came to showcase some of the best products this country has to offer.”
But the post ended with an emoji showing the tricolor flag of Ireland, which is often used by Republicans, rather than the Union Jack or any other flag symbolizing the province.
The flag was later removed, but only now noticed by social media users. One of them, Rick Bell, commented: “Literally the government of a country that doesn’t know the country’s flag. You couldn’t make this up.
Now you see it: The post ended with an emoji showing the tricolor flag of Ireland, not the Union Jack or any other flag symbolizing the province.
You don’t do that now: The flag was later removed, but only after social media users noticed it. One of them, Rick Bell, commented: “Literally the government of a country that doesn’t know the country’s flag. You couldn’t make this up.
Another, Joe Simons, joked: “The social media intern needs to be fired.”
And Miriam Butler-Wilson said: “Imagine working at 10 Downing Street and you don’t know your own country’s flag. Just wow.
The gaffe comes weeks after former Home Secretary Suella Braverman raised questions about her knowledge of Northern Ireland, comparing unionist marches to pro-Palestinian protests over the Gaza war.
In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times that preceded her firing last week, Ms. Braverman risked angering the DUP by saying that the London ceasefire demonstration included “Islamists” who “claimed primacy” and may have been linked to terrorism.
A Tory MP with close links to Northern Ireland told MailOnline that Ms Braverman had shown “total ignorance”.
Even her Tory supporters admitted the DUP “wouldn’t be impressed” by her comments on Northern Ireland because almost all marches in the country are organized by Protestants.
