Not quite PR wizardry! Labour left red-faced after TikTok election videos using Harry Potter memes to attack Rishi Sunak's national service 'are pulled over copyright breaches'
The Labour Party has been left red-faced after an attack video featuring a clip from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was pulled last night.
The clip, posted on TikTok, took aim at the Conservatives' national service pledge in a pitch to younger voters.
Labour, which has more than 100,000 followers on TikTok and two million likes, launched their account five days ago for the general election campaign with a video from leader Sir Keir Starmer.
But they could be in hot water after sharing the scene from the film adaptation of JK Rowling's wizarding world in breach of the site's strict copyright rules.
A Tory source told MailOnline: 'If they carry on like this they are going to need a good lawyer.'
Labour pulled a video from its TikTok account which featured a clip from the first Harry Potter film in an attack on Rishi Sunak's national service policy
The video showed a famous scene from the film in which the Dursley family are inundated with letters
The post at the centre of the row showed a scene from the first Harry Potter film in which the Dursley family are bombarded with hundreds of letters after attempting to stop Harry from being told he is a wizard.
The family are sitting in the living room with Harry when the letters suddenly begin shooting out of the fireplace and soon fill the small space.
Labour HQ tagged the video: 'POV: You didn't respond to your National Service letter on your 18th birthday'.
Eagle-eyed social media users pointed out that the video, and another featuring a clip from Shrek, had disappeared from the account and speculated it may be due to copyright breaches.
TikTok's community guidelines state: 'We do not allow content that violates someone else's intellectual property rights. If we become aware of content that is a violation, we will remove it.'
The site offers a 'three strike' policy that gives it the right to ban accounts which repeatedly infringe its rules.
Labour insiders are sure to be frustrated after they looked to capitalise on Gen Z's meme culture in response to the Prime Minister's push to bring back national service.
Under the plans all 18-year-olds would either complete a year of full-time employment in the armed forces or undertake 12 weekends of volunteering for organisations such as the NHS or police forces.
It marks a tough day for the Labour campaign after Diane Abbott, who has had the whip restored following a row over anti-semitism, appeared to say she had been banned from standing for the party at the July 4 election.
But the row soon descended into chaos after she later said she was 'dismayed' by 'reports' that she would not be able to stand.
Under Rishi Sunak's plans all 18-year-olds would either complete a year of full-time employment in the armed forces or undertake 12 weekends of volunteering for organisations such as the NHS or police force
Mr Sunak said on Tuesday that not serving in the military was one of his 'regrets'
Sir Keir Starmer faced fury from Labour's left-wing after it was earlier revealed the race row probe ended months ago
Diane Abbott has had the Labour whip restored but reportedly been blocked from standing as a party candidate at the general election
Ms Abbott was suspended from Labour's parliamentary party amid a probe into her comments about Jewish people in a letter to the Observer newspaper in April last year. However, it emerged last night that the race row probe ended in December.
Rishi Sunak claimed yesterday that he would have opted to serve in the military, saying not entering the forces is 'one of my regrets'.
He argues that the scheme would increase social cohesion and opportunities for young people, training them in vital skills for their later working lives.
Writing in the Mail On Sunday, Mr Sunak pitched the plan to voters: 'As a father, I look forward to my own two daughters doing their National Service: I think they will find it a rewarding experience.
'It will teach them, as it will other youngsters, much about themselves and the society they serve.'
He added: 'For some, it will open their eyes to potential careers. For others, it will forge a culture of service that will make our society stronger and more cohesive.
'It will build trust across our nation: helping us all to get to know each other better, unifying our society at a time when there are those at home and abroad trying to divide us'.
But opposition parties have called the scheme 'desperate' and hit out at the projected £2.5 billion cost.
A Labour Party spokesperson branded the scheme as 'another desperate £2.5billion unfunded commitment from a Tory Party which already crashed the economy, sending mortgages rocketing, and now they're spoiling for more.
'This is not a plan – it's a review which could cost billions and is only needed because the Tories hollowed out the armed forces to their smallest size since Napoleon,' the spokesperson said.
If implemented, Mr Sunak has said the scheme would be compulsory, with two government ministers this week refusing to rule out fines for parents of teenagers who refuse to participate.
Today, Mr Starmer and shadow health secretary Wes Streeting are scheduled to meet medical trainees in Worcestershire to discuss Labour's new NHS pledge on treatment targets.
Meanwhile Mr Sunak insisted universities are not the only option facing young people as he visited Cornwall to promote his new scheme to scrap 'rip-off' degrees in order to fund 100,000 apprentices.
The Liberal Democrats are campaigning in Wales where leader Sir Ed Davey has been seen riding a bike.
The Labour Party, TikTok and WarnerBros have been contacted for comment.
