PM in IDS Twitter account blunder

Prime Minister David Cameron warned about the danger of Twitter before he signed up to the social network and now he seems to have fallen into one of its traps.

On his Twitter account Mr Cameron posted a message in support of Iain Duncan Smith's welfare reforms but blundered by including the name of a spoof account for the Work and Pensions Secretary.

Suspicions about the @IDS_MP account should have been raised by examining a recent message posted by "Iain Duncan Smith" which said: "I've always supported a Mansion Tax. Your Tax buys my Mansion. Chin chin!"

A message from Mr Cameron's account, run by the Prime Minister and a Conservative team, said: "We're rolling out a cap on Benefits today - @IDS_MP and I are determined to make work pay, and help the UK compete on the #GlobalRace."

Other clues to the true nature of the @IDS_MP account include the posts "a thrifty way to keep cool in this heat wave is to dab the ice from your Champagne bucket onto your forehead" and "I'm getting a silk handkerchief embroidered with gold braid saying 'in it together' with my pay rise".

In response to the Prime Minister's erroneous endorsement, @IDS_UK tweeted: "Chin chin Dave. Round mine for a Pimms later?"

Mr Cameron was a latecomer to Twitter, having previously said he was worried that ''too many tweets might make a tw*t''.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman made light of the mix-up, saying: "I think it's 'hashtag one to take on the chin'."