David Lammy was mocked last night for urging people to stomp their feet in a show of support for Ukraine.
His ‘Make Noise for Ukraine’ campaign has been launched despite Kyiv remaining desperately short of military equipment in its war with Russia.
So while Ukrainian commanders are forced to ration artillery shells, Foreign Secretary Mr Lammy’s focus appeared to be on hashtags and social media posts.
The promotion also calls on UK military personnel to beep car horns and bang pots together, supposedly to send a morale-boosting message to Ukraine.
But senior British defence figures said clips uploaded on to X and Facebook were no substitute for weapons, including the UK’s deadly Storm Shadow missiles.
Kyiv remains unable to use the long-range weapons after a dispute between the UK and US over whether their involvement would be an escalation of the conflict.
In a letter to government colleagues, Mr Lammy urged troops and members of the emergency services to record themselves showing support for Ukraine.
Soldiers were told to ‘make some noise like playing an instrument, singing, chanting, clapping, stomping your feet or honking your car horn’.