Boris Johnson’s message congratulating Joe Biden on election victory contains hidden reference to Trump

After Joe Biden was declared the winner of the US presidential election on Saturday, Boris Johnson duly fulfilled his diplomatic duty with a two-line statement congratulating the Democrat candidate on his victory.

But his message – posted as a picture on Twitter – contained more than just well wishes for the former vice-president.  

Eagle-eyed Twitter users were the first spot references to Donald Trump faintly visible in the image tweeted by the prime minister’s official account.

And when the picture is brightened and magnified, the words “Trump”, “second term” and “the future” become more clearly perceptible.  

The discovery has sparked speculation that Downing Street had believed Donald Trump was going to win last week’s election, only to inexpertly edit it in response to Mr Biden’s victory after a nail-biting few days of vote-counting. 

But on Tuesday a government spokesperson said: “As you’d expect, two statements were prepared in advance for the outcome of this closely contested election. A technical error meant that parts of the alternative message were embedded in the background of the graphic.”

However, the smaller text size of the Trump message embedded in the Biden photo has prompted suggestions Downing Street had prepared a longer message congratulating the incumbent president – who enjoyed a good relationship with Mr Johnson – than the 47-word statement received by the Democrat, who has yet to speak to the PM since his win.

The error has led to bafflement and mockery on social media.

“Your regular reminder that Dominic Cummings believes they could run a billion dollar tech corporation from Downing Street,” wrote one Twitter user.

“Looks like No 10 could do with a few more staff who have trained in ‘cyber’ (they just didn't know it yet),” joked Labour’s Angela Rayner, in reference to an infamous government advert suggesting ballet dancers could seek new careers in IT.