Ukip MEP faces Twitter ridicule after calling for spoof account ban
Ukip MEP David Coburn has received ridicule over social media after he asked his followers to report a spoof Twitter account, supposedly based in the fictional town of Trumpton.
The owner of the @Trumpton_UKIP account, Mike Dicks, has said that Coburn threatened legal action over the use of the Ukip trademark.
another fake account has emerged @Trumpton_UKIP - please block/report
— David Coburn MEP (@DavidCoburnUKip) December 2, 2014
Since creating the account for the fictional town which became famous in a BBC stop-motion show from the 60s, @Trumpton_UKIP has been followed by fake accounts for Trumpton BMP, Labour and Lib Dem ‘candidates’. One tweet from the account said that while it did not mean to offend the creator Trumpton – Gordon Murray – it did not mind offending Ukip.
We do not mean to offend the great Gordon Murray who created us all. We do not mind if we cause offence to #ukip pic.twitter.com/z1hk16ow8y — UKIP Trumpton (@Trumpton_UKIP) December 6, 2014Since Coburn made the complaint – and faced questions over if he realised Trumpton was not real – the @Trumpton_UKIP account has seen its followers rise from just over 9,000 to over 16,000.