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Man the floodgates! David Cameron takes to Twitter
Are you sure about this, Prime Minister?
Prime Minister David Cameron opened for business on Twitter yesterday (6 October) with his first message:
I'm starting Conference with this new Twitter feed about my role as Conservative Leader. I promise there won't be "too many tweets..."
It looks like he'll need a full-time Twitter secretary to deal with the barrage he is already receiving.
In less than a day @David_Cameron has attracted almost 80,000 followers (at time of writing), not all fans:
It could be a while before Cameron catches up with Barack Obama: the US President has 20.6 million Twitter followers.
Twatted
In 2009, David Cameron famously provoked some synthetic outrage on breakfast radio when, asked about his views of Twitter, he said: "The trouble with Twitter, the instantness of it – too many twits might make a twat."
In UK English, Twat is a mild term of abuse for idiot, and less commonly an offensive term for vagina. It is not considered a swear word under broadcasting guidelines, according to a Reg report of the Cameron twat incident. But the prime minister quickly apologised for his off-colour joke.
"You always have to be careful what you say. If I've caused any offence I obviously regret that," he told Sky News. ®