US election: Technical error blamed for PM's Biden tweet glitch

The government has blamed a "technical error" for a Boris Johnson tweet congratulating Joe Biden on his US election victory which faintly showed the name "Trump" in the background.

Social media users commented on the discrepancy while the Guido Fawkes website said the message also included the word "second term" buried in it.

Officials said two messages were prepared before the result was known.

The alternative one had been "embedded" in the other by mistake, they said.

Mr Johnson posted the message on Twitter on Saturday after broadcasters in the US and elsewhere declared the Democratic former vice-president the winner.

Incumbent President Donald Trump is refusing to accept the outcome and is mounting a series of legal challenges in certain states.

The PM's message read: "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."

But the message appeared to include traces of a different message referring to Mr Trump, who has been in office since 2017.

A government spokesperson 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."

UK ministers have said they are excited about working with Mr Biden on issues such as climate change and trade while Mr Johnson has said there is "more much that unites than divides" him and the President-elect.

In recent days, Mr Biden's team has sought to downplay lingering tensions over Mr Johnson's role in Brexit and past comments he has made about both President Trump and his predecessor Barack Obama.

Mr Biden, who has made his opposition to Brexit well known, has insisted maintaining peace in Northern Ireland is paramount to any post-Brexit UK-US trade deal.