A senior New Zealand diplomat based in Washington is in hot water over a series of tweets directed at the US Democratic party saying “please get your shit together or we will all die”.

Caroline Beresford, New Zealand’s deputy head of mission to the US and ambassador to Haiti, sent the tweet in response to a post by US politics website the Hill detailing the Democratic party’s plans for the 2020 election and the possible pairing of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as running mates. “A Sanders-Warren ticket could win big in 2020” declared the headline.

“No it couldn’t” responded Beresford in a tweet that was later deleted. “Please get your shit together or we will all die.”

In another tweet on the same article, Beresford added “They’ve learned nothing.”

A spokesperson for the New Zealand ministry of foreign affairs and trade said they were aware of Beresford’s tweets and were taking “appropriate action”.

“The ministry does not in any way endorse the content or tone of the tweets, which we note were deleted,” the spokesperson said.

“Our code of conduct and guidelines around the use of social media set very clear expectations of staff when making public comment, including maintaining political neutrality and care in expressing personal opinion. These expectations were not met in this instance.”

In an email to Newsroom, Beresford confirmed that she was the author of the tweets and said her hasty comments were a mistake.

“Yes I did send those tweets and realised very quickly that they were inappropriate, which is why I deleted them.” Beresford told Newsroom.

A US embassy spokesperson said: “We work closely with our hardworking, professional New Zealand counterparts on a daily basis and hold them in the highest regard.”