HE THINKS his grandfather Winston Churchill would have been ruined by social media.

But Mid Sussex MP Sir Nicholas Soames is the surprising king of the form.

The 68-year-old told The Argus it was over dinner at Westminster that colleagues opened his eyes to Twitter back in 2014.

Since then he has clocked up nearly 5,000 tweets and has mastered the use of the format’s hashtag.

Perhaps his best documented Twitter exchange was with financial journalist Robert Peston, who is known for his casual style, often reporting in open-neck shirts and messy hair.

Sir Nicholas tweeted Peston to tell him to take his “hands out of pockets” and “get a haircut, put on a tie and generally smarten up”.

But his main target in recent months has been Brexit supporters.

In February, after Nigel Farage took to the radio to argue his case, Sir Nicholas tweeted: “Try again did you hear that frightful chattering cad and faux Bon homme @Nigel_Farage on the wireless this am #suchappallingrubbish.”

When Farage replied, Sir Nicholas hit back, calling him “truly careless” adding “listening to you on the wireless today is like a replay of every pub bore”.

And it is not the first time he has had a run-in with the Ukip leader, on another occasion tweeting: “The thing about Farage is that he is like Donald Trump only without the charm.”

Those in his own party are not off limits, with fellow Tory John Redwood getting both barrels after he wrote to MPs encouraging them to vote in favour of Brexit.

He sent: “I must say to be told how to vote in Referendum by J Redwood in an email to colleagues marks a new low in my life in the House #b****roff.”

Having been engaged in a heated debate with South East Tory MEP and Brexit campaigner Daniel Hannan, he tweeted: “I have achieved a position of some prominence in our public discourse : I have been blocked by the boy @DanHannanMEP the great debater #NOT.”

But it is not just politics.

Sir Nicholas also likes to update his 13,500 followers on all aspects of his life, not least his recent diet.

Earlier this month, he took to Twitter to tell them: “Due to my sadly reduced eating habits I tried for lunch some tasteless cardboard called Tofu.OMG how ghastly is that!#bargepoledonttouch.”

But what would his grandfather have made of our instant social media age?

Sir Nicholas thinks he may have struggled.

He said: “He began public life when Queen Victoria was still on the throne and ended in 1955 when thankfully there was no email or internet around.

“People still sent letters. I don’t think he would have taken to it.”

To follow Sir Nicholas on Twitter visit twitter.com/nsoamesmp.

SIR NICHOLAS’S WITTY WISECRACKS IN ONLY 140 CHARACTERS

Some of Sir Nicholas’s top Twitter moments After Labour veteran Dennis Skinner was thrown out of the Commons for calling the Prime Minister Dodgy Dave: “Sad to see Skinner crash today. Once terrific now defunct volcano of the 80s sans nous, sans presence, sans pretty much everything.”

Responding to fellow Tory Boris Johnson’s calls for Britain to leave the EU: “Almost inconceivable Boris could be so wrong. Strong evidence in DT [Daily Telegraph] today that he is seriously adrift in the argument. Outers running on toxic combo of whinge and grievance. Defeat will come intellectually and politically.”

Responding to last week’s BBC White Paper and the reaction to some BBC stars: “Excellent White Paper well done Whitto very important plans to reform inadequate governance of BBC. Lovie Joan Bakewell heroic whinge #bless.”

After actress Emma Thompson was sprayed with manure while at a fracking protest: “Oh Frabjous day! Is it really true that Emma Thompson was sprayed with pig s**t by a farmer whilst she was protesting fracking #thereisagod.”

After television journalist Robert Peston made a joke about his apparent lack of manners: Soames: “@Peston get a haircut put on a tie and generally smarten up... and hands out of pockets.”

Peston replied: “Errr. Eff off.”

Soames responded: “@Peston oh dear oh dear!”