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Boris Johnson's former deputy mayor today blamed hackers for posting naked “selfie” pictures on his Facebook page.

Richard Barnes was left embarrassed when the explicit pictures found their way onto his profile last night.

In one of the photos, which were swiftly deleted from his Facebook account, a man is seen taking a picture of himself in a bedroom mirror with his white shirt and red braces half off and exposing himself. His head is out of shot.

Some online commentators speculated that Mr Barnes may have fallen foul of the new iOS7 upgrade for iPhones, which has an option for all photos taken to be uploaded to Facebook automatically. But Mr Barnes, who was deputy mayor of London from 2008-12, told the Standard he had been the victim of hackers.

He said: “Have you ever been hacked? Well I have been hacked. Someone’s got in there and put the picture up.”

When asked if he had any idea who the perpetrator was, he replied from his home in Hillingdon: “If I did know I wouldn’t be here.”

Friends rallied round, saying Mr Barnes would be “mortified” by the incident.

Tory Assembly member James Cleverly, who worked alongside Mr Barnes for four years at City Hall, said: “It’s a bit embarrassing but the simple fact is that he hasn’t actually done anything wrong.

“Whether he was hacked or it was a technology error, he’s a single guy, he’s not been unfair, unfaithful or exploitative, it’s just embarrassing. He’s a genuinely lovely guy and he’ll be mortified by this. I hope it blows over quickly.”

The saga is reminiscent of the “sexting” scandal involving US politician Anthony Weiner, a Democrat candidate in the New York mayoral race, who allegedly sent explicit photos to a 22-year-old woman under the alias “Carlos Danger”.

Mr Barnes was reportedly alerted to the pictures by a friend in the US.

They were swiftly removed but screen shots had already found their way onto the internet having been posted by the Trending Central website. Mr Barnes told the Metro: “I’m annoyed and shaking with anger.

“I’m a 65-year-old gay man on his own … It’s not the sort of thing I do. Do you really think I would be that f***ing stupid after 30 years in politics?”

Mr Barnes is a serving Conservative councillor in Hillingdon.