Boris Johnson blew his Twitter congratulations to Joe Biden by accidentally including references to a message prepared for Donald Trump to win.
The tweet the Prime Minister sent contained a faint shadow showing the word “Trump” in the background of the message.
There were also faint words stating “the future” and “second term” appeared to be buried in the image.
The Prime Minister posted: “Congratulations to Joe Biden on his election as president of the United States and to Kamala Harris on her historic achievement.
“This US is our most important ally and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities, from climate change to trade and security”.
The odd background references led to speculation Downing Street originally prepared a message to herald a Trump win, only to replace it with one acknowledging the Democratic candidate’s success.
Officials have referred to a “technical error” for the embarrassment.
A government spokesman said: "As you'd expect two statements were prepared in advance for the outcome of this closely contested election. A technical error meant that parts of the alternative message were embedded in the background of the graphic."
Johnson told Cabinet ministers on Tuesday morning he is “looking forward” to working with US president-elect Biden on tackling climate change, boosting free trade and standing up for human rights.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The PM congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and said he was looking forward to working with the president-elect on tackling climate change, boosting free trade and standing up for human rights and the rules-based international system.”
The spokesman confirmed that Johnson and Biden have not yet spoken, and declined to say whether a call would take place on Tuesday.
Johnson is understood to be well down the pecking order for the incoming President as the Prime Minister is seen as an ally of Donald Trump who has so far refused to concede defeat in the election.
Biden is also angered by the UK government’s insistence that it will override international law on a Brexit deal with the EU in a move that could undermine the Good Friday peace deal in Northern Ireland.
