George Osborne is embroiled in a Twitter row with the Conservatives over “fake news” adverts the party put out claiming the PM’s Brexit deal “passed” parliament.
The ex-chancellor turned Evening Standard editor offered to “come and explain how it’s done” to party chiefs at CCHQ after they hit out over a story in his newspaper criticising the accuracy of the advert.
On Tuesday, MPs backed the second reading of Boris Johnson’s Brexit Bill but tore up the timetable to get the legislation through its numerous other stages in parliament.
But with a general election thought to be on the horizon, the Conservatives tweeted an advert claiming the deal had “passed parliament tonight” but now Jeremy Corbyn voted to delay.
The Standard carried a story on former Tory minister turned Lib Dem Sam Gyimah and others claiming the advert misleads the public and was “fake news”.
When the Conservatives’ official Twitter account claimed the story was “simply not true”, Osborne waded in.
He tweeted at the party he once represented in government alongside David Cameron: “I think you’ll find the team @EveningStandard know the difference between a bill passing its second reading in the Commons and a bill passing Parliament.
“I know it’s been a while since the latter happened, but I’m happy to come in and explain how it’s done.”
He went on to criticise Johnson for kicking Tory Remainer Ken Clarke out of the parliamentary party.
The Bill, which aims to write into UK law the new Brexit deal Johnson has struck with Brussels, has yet to clear its committee stage, third reading and the House of Lords.
Backbenchers and the opposition are also expected to launch attempts to try and amend the legislation to force a customs union and a second referendum.
Gyimah is among those who have laid into the ads.
Former Cabinet minister Lord Deben, a Tory peer, said: “The fact is this bill has not passed.
“We have not done any of the detailed examination of what that bill says. We have not done anything about the amendments…to give that bill greater sense.
“It’s only after that we have done all that that the bill is passed.
“It’s the truth that there are many people who appear to be undermining the parliamentary process.”
HuffPost UK has contacted the Conservative Party for comment.