Theresa May’s chief of staff Gavin Barwell was caught up in an embarrassing porn riddle today after he apparently replied to a tweet containing hardcore video clips.
Mr Barwell’s Twitter account, which has almost 22,600 followers, responded to a tweet featuring three graphic videos showing people having sex.
One of the videos features a sex scene with “two schoolgirls” and their “mum”.
The original tweet came from a Twitter user called @twinkystar_69 and was posted last March.
The reply from the former Tory MP, who lost his Croydon Central seat in last year’s General Election, was apparently posted at 9:21pm last night and was still on his Twitter timeline early this morning.
It was deleted shortly after Downing Street was alerted by a story on the Guido Fawkes political website.
It is not the first time Mr Barwell’s Twitter activities have come under scrutiny.
In 2013, he was embarrassed after complaining that a Labour press release appeared alongside an advert for “Arab dating”. It later emerged that the adverts displayed were based on each user’s “interests”.
The 46 year old, who has three sons with his NHS speech and language therapist wife Karen, was appointed was appointed Downing Street Chief of Staff by Prime Minster following the resignations of Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy on 10 June.
The former housing minister was described by fellow Tory MP Iain Duncan-Smith as a “safe-ish pair of hands” after the debacle of last June’s snap poll.
Cambridge educated Mr Barwell worked for the Conservative party headquarters from 1993 and was Croydon councillor from 1998 to 2010, when he was elected to Parliment. He was appointed to the Privy Council in April 2017.
Mr Barwell, who was treated for cancer as a child, is seen as a popular figure on the Tory backbenches but is having to cope with an extraordinary period of turrmoil for the leadership of the Tory party.
Mr Barwell and No 10 Downing Street did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
