You are in > manchester.com  > News > Renewed pressure for Manchester MP over 'fake' photo

General Manchester news

Renewed pressure for Manchester MP over 'fake' photo

30/10/2007

A Manchester MP and government cabinet member is at the centre of fresh allegations regarding a doctored photograph.

James Purnell recently denied giving the go-ahead to a photo that had a picture of the MP superimposed.

The original accusation came about when Mr Purnell was late for a photo shoot at Tameside General Hospital which involved several MPs. His photo was taken separately and superimposed on the group shot that was later disseminated to the press.

Emails obtained by the Telegraph show that the hospital sent messages regarding the doctored photos and copies of the images to Mr Purnell's email address before they were handed to the newspapers.

But a spokeswoman for the MP for Stalybridge and Hyde said the emails must have been "lost in the system" and had not been read by Mr Purnell.

"James did not see either of these emails or the photo before the story broke on September 28th and the constituency office did not reply to either of these emails," she told the paper.

The row is not only an embarrassment for the Manchester MP but is likely to renew suspicions that prime minister Gordon Brown has broken his promise to inaugurate a new period of spin-free politics.