Lib Dem rival 'cut out of photo of Vauxhall Labour candidate Kate Hoey'...but his legs remain

The legs of Kate Hoey's rival candidate George Turner could be seen in the photo but not his head or upper body
@KateHoeyMP
Hatty Collier9 May 2017
WEST END FINAL

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Labour candidate Kate Hoey shared an image in which her Liberal Democrat challenger was apparently removed from a picture taken at an event in south London.

Ms Hoey is standing to be re-elected in the south London constituency she has held since 1989. She appeared today in a photo on Twitter where an crude effort had been made to erase rival Lib Dem candidate George Turner.

Eagle-eyed viewers noticed that Mr Turner's legs could be seen in the back row of Brexit supporter Ms Hoey’s photo. However his face and upper body had vanished.

At the time the photo was taken, Mr Turner said he had been standing next to the Lib Dems’ Sarah Olney, who can be seen behind Ms Hoey in the image.

The candidates were at an event in south London campaigning for the Government to support measures for cleaner air.

She captioned the image: “Wonderful protest by children in North Lambeth to call on politicians to sign the #CleanAirPledge. Fully support.”

Ms Hoey told the Standard: "I was not willing to tweet a photo with anyone wearing a rosette because this was an apolitical event on behalf of the children and I did not want those partisan elements included.”

Vauxhall

2015 MP Kate Hoey

2015 majority 12,708 over the Conservatives 

In response Mr Turner, who worked for former Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes before he lost his Bermondsey and Old Southwark seat in 2015, retweeted the photo and said: “Wow. Just wow.”

He later wrote: “@Sarahjolney1 Do you remember me standing next to you yesterday? Notice anything strange, like my head disappearing?”

The Lib Dems have identified the Vauxhall constituency, where 77 per cent of residents voted to remain, as one of their key battlegrounds.

It comes after the Lib Dems printed a leaflet merging the faces of Ms Hoey and ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage.

The Lib Dems see Vauxhall as one of their key battlegrounds

Ms Hoey, who was the chair of Labour Leave, was left at odds with her local Labour party after she campaigned alongside Mr Farage on his Thames flotilla during the referendum and aligned herself with his Grassroots Out campaign.

The Lib Dems distributed 20,000 leaflets with the Hoey-Farage graphic in the Vauxhall constituency where Ms Hoey has been an MP since 1989.

She won the south London seat at the last General Election in 2015 with a majority of 12,708 over the Conservatives.

Ms Hoey’s tweet sparked a flurry of jokes on social media with one Twitter user posting: “Why's there a pair of legs in the back row with no body?”

Jake Johnstone tweeted: “Word to the wise @KateHoeyMP, if you’re going to be petty and Photoshop out @georgenturner from a picture, don’t forget his legs…”

Another person said: “It must be a very tiny child with man-size lower legs.

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