The Foreign Office has been mocked for getting its iconic Scottish bridges in a twist.
Boris Johnson’s department had to “girder” its loins for ridicule when boasting about the Queensferry Crossing while tweeting an image of the Forth Bridge by accident.
It must have seemed a great idea at the time when staff picked the new £1.3 billion bridge to showcase its designs credentials using the hashtags #DesignisGREAT and #GlobalBritain.
But the gaping flaw in the staff’s knowledge was posting an image of the Victorian Forth Bridge – which last year became an UNESCO World Heritage site – instead of the new bridge which is due to open, behind schedule, next May.
In a tweet the Foreign Office proudly claimed “Opening in 2017, the 2.7km Queensferry Crossing will be the longest three tower cable-stayed bridge in the world”.
But the accompanying photo was of the 126-year-old rail bridge – and while the 52-year old Forth Road Bridge could be picked out in the distance, of the Queensferry Crossing there was no sign.
https://twitter.com/markmcdsnp/status/803688990956253184
no this is the Fifth Firth o Forth crossing pic.twitter.com/YavpZR3ruV
— Yon birkie coof (@ron_mould) November 29, 2016
Here's the one WM proposed: pic.twitter.com/6f2UB3YJvA
— Sandra Patterson (@SandPatterson) November 29, 2016
After facing a barrage of mocking tweets, the Foreign Office responded: “Any misunderstanding is water under the bridge(s).”
