Twitter

MP cautioned after election results slip on Twitter

Author

By The Drum Team, Editorial

October 26, 2010 | 2 min read

Labour MP Kerry McCarthy has been cautioned by police for prematurely revealing election results on Twitter.

The Bristol East MP, who was made Labour's "Twitter tsar" by Gordon Brown, leaked the results of a sample of postal votes on the social networking site days before the general election.

McCarthy boasted that Labour was leading in her constituency and provided the figures to support her claims.

But it is illegal to reveal the votes cast before the end of polling day and she later admitted she had been "thoughtless".

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "Police have confirmed that they have cautioned a man and a woman, both from Bristol, following an investigation into alleged election fraud earlier this year under the Representation of the People Act 1983."

Twitter

More from Twitter

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +