Harman has Twitter security issues

Friday, February 26, 2010

Harriet Harman has expressed concern over the security of Twitter after reports of bogus Twitter accounts being set up pretending to be MPs.

The Labour MP Janet Anderson has called on government to look at Twitter security after it emerged there were fake Twitter accounts purporting to be from MPs. Anderson revealed there was a website called MP Tweets which made constituents believe they were communicating with MPs when no MPs were involved.

Harman also admitted to MPs her own account had been hacked, with a bogus tweet sent to the Tory shadow minister Alan Duncan.

The Leader of the House of Commons said: "I wouldn't ever send a Tweet like that."

"I actually got a response to that bogus Tweet from the former shadow leader of the House who's now the shadow prisons minister."

"I've got to get back to him and tell him it wasn't from me - I wouldn't ever send a Tweet like that."

Following the admission Duncan tweeted: "Did get a message in Harriet's name, so I sent a friendly message back by text. A bit confusing, and all in my first week on Twitter."

Duncan later said the comments made by Harman "may explain the mystery" of a tweet he had received the previous day.