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Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly has triggered a massive social media backlash after claiming William Wilberforce was a Tory MP.

Mr Cleverly marked last Thursday's anniversary of the abolition of the Slavery Act in 1833 with a video post on Twitter.

In the video, he says the passing of the act in parliament was "the culmination of a 46-year campaign by a Tory MP from Yorkshire called William Wilberforce".

However, the anti-slavery campaigner and MP for Hull actually sat as an Independent throughout a long parliamentary career.

His political neutrality became famous after he declared himself to be "no party man".

Instead, Wilberforce supported both Tory and Whig governments and voted on issues according to his own conscience.

Despite being an active Twitter user, Mr Cleverly's post has remained on his timeline since Thursday and has still not been corrected.

So far, it has attracted nearly 4,000 replies - nearly all of them pointing out Wilberforce's political independence and many of them calling on the MP for Braintree to either apologise or delete his post.

(Image: PA)

Hull Councillor Haroldo Herrera-Richmond posted: "William Wilberforce was NOT a Tory - the party which opposed abolition. He was an Independent from Hull."

Fellow city councillor Phil Webster posted: "Idiot! Conservatives formed in 1834. William Wilberforce (independent MP) died 1833. Deliberately lying to the electorate is a trait that runs through your party."

Others took a more humorous approach to calling out the current Tory Party chairman.

Mark Shepstone posted "Tory MP Tory MP Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969. Tory MP Geoff Hurst scored a hat trick in the 1966 World Cup Final. Tory MP Christopher Columbus discoverer America in 1492."

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