A former Labour MP campaigning for re-election has shown her determination to secure the limelight by attempting to Photoshop her rival out of existence, only to fall victim to a common scourge of those digitally altering images.
Kate Hoey, or, more likely, one of her team, apparently tried to erase Liberal Democrat candidate George Turner out of a photo of her on the campaign trail in Vauxhall.
Both candidates were at a local event to support children’s calls for the Government to support clean air measures.
But while Mr Turner's face and torso have vanished, his legs remain clearly visible in the back row of Ms Hoey's version of the image.
“Wonderful protest by children in North Lambeth to call on politicians to sign the #CleanAirPledge. Fully support,” Ms Hoey tweeted.
Mr Turner re-tweeted the image of his half-body, saying: “Wow. Just wow.”
Mr Turner worked for the Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes before losing his Bermondsey and Old Southwark seat in 2015. That year, his party slid to fourth place in Vauxhall.
The tweets prompted multiple jokes online.
“Why's there a pair of legs in the back row with no body?” asked one Twitter user.
“It must be a very tiny child with man-size lower legs,” responded another.
Another candidate vying for the seat and present at the campaign event was Harini Iyengar of the Women's Equality Party. She was not erased from the photo.
Ms Hoey could not be immediately reached for comment by The Independent.
The Lib Dems are targeting the Vauxhall seat held by Labour with a 12,000 majority to oust Brexit-backer Hoey, who has been a local MP since 1989.
It is not the first time Photoshop has been used in the two-party battle.
Last month, the Lib Dems photoshopped half of Ms Hoey’s face against half of former Ukip leader Nigel Farage’s face alongside the caption, “Vauxhall deserves better”.
More than three quarters – 78 per cent – of Vauxhall constituents voted to remain in the European Union.
