It is not just Premiership footballers who get into trouble using Twitter.

The Maldives tourism ministry thought it would be a great idea to publicise their country on Twitter by getting users to share stories of their stay using the hashtag #sunnysideoflife.

Unfortunately, the hashtag was quickly taken over by protesters who used it to draw attention to the brutal behaviour of the new regime that toppled the democratic government earlier this year. A regime that routinely kills and tortures its citizens and targets journalists who draw attention to its activities needs to have its behaviour made known around the world. It was good to see that the story was taken up by the mainstream British press. People need to know that there is a deeply unpleasant side to this so-called “tropical paradise”.

Many of the large hotel-islands are owned by people close to the new regime. Any reduction in tourism will therefore hit the regime directly in the pocket.

No one would consider going on holiday to Syria now. The killing and brutality in The Maldives is on a lower scale but that hardly makes it right. Since the country is so dependent on tourism, a serious reduction in visitor numbers would surely force the regime to make some improvements.

Standards of political behaviour around the world are not always as high as we would wish but if you want to enjoy a tropical holiday there are many destinations to visit without feeding a corrupt and murderous regime.