A Labour MP posted a meme on Twitter yesterday that quoted Winnie Mandela endorsing the brutal apartheid practice of “necklacing”.

Naz Shah, 44, the MP for Bradford West, later deleted the tweet but did not comment on its removal.

She had posted a tribute to Mrs Madikizela-Mandela, as she was latterly known, who died on Monday aged 81. Ms Shah shared a tweet that said “RIP Winnie Mandela ” and a meme with the quote: “Together, hand in hand, with our matches and our necklaces, we shall liberate this country.”

The post led to a backlash online, with many social media users pointing out that necklacing was the gruesome apartheid-era practice that involved forcing a petrol-filled tyre over a person’s head and setting it alight.