Emily Thornberry resigns from Shadow Cabinet following controversial England flag tweet

Thornberry apologised for causing offense after she said a house with three flags was "remarkable"

Kashmira Gander
Thursday 20 November 2014 23:32 GMT
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Emily Thornberry MP for Islington South, pictured in 2011
Emily Thornberry MP for Islington South, pictured in 2011

Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry has resigned from the Shadow Cabinet, the Labour Party has said.

It comes after she apologised for tweeting a photo of a house in Rochester adorned with three England flags, for which she was accused of holding working class voters in “contempt”. It is as yet unclear whether her resignation is connected to this incident.

Thornberry, who lives in a £3million home in London, later told The Telegraph she posted the photo because she thought it was "remarkable" as she had never seen a house "completely covered in flags before".

Users of the social media website were quick to point out that the image may have been ill-judged, and made her appear out-of-touch with voters at a time when Labour is attempting to battle against Ukip in the town. Others defended the MP, and said her post may have been misconstrued.

Three hours later on Twitter she apologised, and wrote: "I apologise for any offence caused by the 3 flag picture. People should fly the England flag with pride!"

Labour leader Ed Miliband had reportedly intervened before she said sorry, and made it “very clear” that he believes people should be able to fly the England flag without feeling ashamed.

Mrs Thornberry told The Telegraph before she resigned: "My point is that it's a remarkable image of a house completely covered in flags. I grew up on a council estate and I have never seen a house completely covered in flags before. There's three of them."

A Labour source said: "It is fair to say he made his view very clear that people should fly the England flag with pride."

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