Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland Secretary, was forced on Wednesday night to clarify that he had not resigned after a fake email was circulated making the claim.
“Someone has sent a fake email to press outlets saying I’ve resigned. This is totally untrue,” the minister said in a statement on Twitter. “I hope one of Elon Musk’s first moves is to eliminate fake news on Twitter… Very exciting I know, but complete and utter tosh.”
An email distributed to media outlets from an account masquerading as an official Northern Ireland Office email account shared a short statement under the subject line “[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE] Secretary of State for NI – Resignation Statement”.
“I have had the honour of serving as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; however, due to personal reasons I am stepping down from my role,” it read.
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“I am grateful to the Prime Minister for allowing me to serve – and I am saddened to have to leave HM Government at this important time.”
The email was sent from an ordinary email account “on behalf of” an official address, a tactic adopted in many email scams.
Mr Heaton-Harris was appointed to the brief in September of this year, the third Conservative minister to hold the brief in 2022.
Earlier on Wednesday, he extended the deadline for restoring the Stormont Assembly – which was passed on October 28th without resolution – for up to 12 weeks, until January 19th.
The extension comes after Northern Irish parties and the Irish Government made representations hoping to avoid a Christmas election.
Northern Ireland’s political limbo has lasted since the most recent elections in May, after which the DUP refused to re-enter the institution, citing concerns with the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol as it exists.
