A Tory MP denies faking visits to a town in his constituency despite posting an identical photo on his Facebook page three times.
Nick Fletcher, who represents South Yorkshire's Don Valley, uploaded an image of himself posing on a high street in the market town of Thorne, supposedly on 10 November.
“Great to spend the afternoon in Thorne. It is good to see it thriving again after a tough year,” the post read.
But eagle-eyed residents spotted a Christmas tree in the background, and pointed out the town's festive decorations had not been put up yet.
It later transpired that the same image was uploaded by the MP on two other occasions, on 21 December last year and 20 September this year, when the MP participated in several parliamentary votes.
The 49-year-old has insisted he was in fact in Thorne, near Doncaster, on November 10 – but says he forgot to take a photo before leaving.
The MP has since claimed he "forgot" to take a photo during his trip and says it is not the first time he has re-used pictures when visiting parts of his constituency.
He said: "Having spent the afternoon walking round Thorne with a local business man and calling at a local café for a coffee, I forgot to take a photo.
"This is not the first time I have reused a photo when forgetting to take one and I am sure it will not be the last."
Following anger from constituents at the apparently fake November 11 post, he updated it, writing: "Apologies, forgot to take a photo on my walk about.
"Will make sure I take one when I’m back again next week. Look forward to seeing you all soon."
He also tweeted: "It has been widely reported that yesterday, I reused an old photo of me visiting Thorne.
"While I did in fact attend a surgery there, it was a mistake for me to reuse a picture.
"So, on my next visit, I’ll make sure to take a new photo to promote this great town in #DonValley!"
