Labour's Emily Thornberry resigns from Shadow Cabinet over St George's flags tweet Emily Thornberry said it was 'remarkable' to see a house with three flags Islington MP took photo of house while out campaigning in Rochester It emerged as voters went to the polls in today's crunch by-election Labour colleagues accused Ms Thornberry of being 'derogatory' Tory Cabinet minister Eric Pickles said families should fly flag with pride After furore over message Ms Thornberry tweeted apology for 'offence' House owner Dan Ware, 36, called the Shadow Attorney General a 'snob' By James Chapman and John Stevens and Tamara Cohen for Daily Mail One of Ed Miliband's closest allies was sensationally forced to quit last night after sneering at a modest house draped with Cross of St George flags. Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry said she had "never seen anything like it" after tweeting a picture of the terrace home with three red and white flags and a white van parked in the drive. The astonishing gaffe happened on the day of the Rochester and Strood by-election, in which Ukip was expected to sweep to victory. Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry defended posting the image, claiming she had never seen anything like it The Islington South and Finsbury MP, who lives in a £2million house in a smart, left-leaning part of north London, wrote mockingly alongside the photo: "Image from Rochester." Miss Thornberry initially attempted to defend her remarks. But she dramatically resigned as polls closed last night after a furious dressing down from Labour leader Mr Miliband. The MP, who was the first to nominate him for the party leadership in 2010, agreed to quit after being told he had "never been so angry." The self-inflicted wound for Labour could not have been worse timed. Mr Miliband's allies had hoped the political pressure would switch to David Cameron ahead of Ukip's expected victory in Rochester and Strood, Kent, where Tory MP Mark Reckless has defected to Nigel Farage's party. Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry outside the Houses of Parliament (left) sparked fury with her tweet today. She lives in a house worth an estimated £3million in Islington, north London Dan Ware owns the house in Strood featured in the Shadow Attorney General's controversial tweet Mr Miliband's leadership has been under pressure since the traditionally supportive New Statesman magazine attacked him earlier this month as a "Hampstead intellectual" and a "quasi-Marxist" who does not understand lower middle class aspiration. The latest controversy risks focusing further attention on how Labour has lost touch with the working class supporters it once relied on for election victories. Labour, which held Rochester and Strood on slightly different boundaries until 2010, was braced to finish a poor third behind Ukip and the Conservatives. Ironically, Miss Thornberry took the picture during what was supposed to be a last-minute campaign stop to encourage Labour's working class supporters to come out and vote. When asked about the tweet, the MP later said she had photographed the property because she had "never seen anything like it." But her mocking tweet caused an immediate backlash on Twitter, with one critic writing: "How out of touch are you? And you wonder why no-one wants to vote for you and your vacuum-packed lefty snobs. Initially, the multi-millionaire MP refused to apologise. She even told reporters she felt she was a victim of "a somewhat prejudiced attitude towards Islington" among her critics. But even Labour MPs expressed fury at her actions with one, Simon Danczuk, saying her "derogatory and dismissive" actions could add to the impression that Labour "has been hijacked by the north London liberal elite." Everyone will know exactly what she meant by that comment. I think she was being derogatory and dismissive of the people," he said. The gaffe could do devastating damage to Labour, which is already facing claims its London-based leadership is completely out of touch with working class voters and losing support in some of its heartlands to Ukip. Announcing her resignation last night, Miss Thornberry accepted her tweet has "caused offence to some people." She added: "That was never my intention and I have apologised. However I will not let anything distract from Labour's chance to win the coming general election. I have therefore tonight told Ed Miliband I will resign from the shadow cabinet. Tory Communities Secretary Eric Pickles told Mrs Thornberry she should be proud to see the St George's flag flying Mrs Thornberry was bombarded with criticism on Twitter within minutes of posting the picture Last night the 36-year-old father of four who owns the property in Strood branded the MP a snob and said she "should have asked me first" before taking the picture of his three-bedroom home, which he bought with wife Maria for £119,000 in 2002. Daniel Ware, who works in the motor trade and does property maintenance, was at work when the MP came round. He said he had simply put up the three St George flags to celebrate the World Cup, and that it was "not political." He was not aware there was a byelection, but voted Conservative at the last general election and has never voted Labour. Referring to Miss Thornberry, he said: "She's a snob. What's she got, a three-storey townhouse in Islington? These flags can be found anywhere you look. Miss Thornberry, 54, who is the wife of a High Court judge and daughter of a former assistant secretary-general at the UN, lives in a Victorian townhouse in the London borough of Islington, which has become a byword for champagne socialism. Ukip leader Nigel Farage reacted immediately to the photo, saying it had let 'Miliband's mask slip' Labour leader Ed Miliband was pictured during a visit to Tetronics International in Swindon, more than 100 miles from the constituency in Rochester She moved into the street, where homes are valued at up to £4.7million, in the same week as Tony Blair, who lived there until his 1997 election win. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: "Whatever one's class, colour or creed, the St George's flag is a unifying symbol for our nation. Don't knock it - let's fly the English flag with pride. Henry Smith, Tory MP for Crawley, tweeted: "This snobbery is the mark of a true champagne socialist and shows what "One Nation" Labour really looks like." Skills Minister Nick Boles wrote: "Would she have sneered so at a house covered in EU flags?" Before being telephoned by a furious Mr Miliband, Miss Thornberry denied snobbery and said her critics were "trying to promote a somewhat prejudiced attitude towards Islington." She added: "It was a house covered in British flags. I've never seen anything like it before. It had three huge flags covering the whole house. I thought it was remarkable. I've never seen a house completely covered in flags. But as the controversy grew, Miss Thornberry was asked to explain herself to her leader. A Labour source said: "It is fair to say he made his view very clear people should fly the England flag with pride." Miss Thornberry later tweeted: "I apologise for any offence caused by the three-flag picture." As continuing controversy overshadowed Tory discomfort over Ukip's expected win, Mr Miliband demanded to speak to her again. She thought the right thing to do was to resign. Ed agreed," said one senior Labour source. Last night liberal commentator Anne Perkins, writing on the website of the left-wing Guardian newspaper, said: "It may be the most devastating message Labour has managed to deliver in the past four years." Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry was a human rights barrister before she was elected the MP for Islington South and Finsbury in 2005 In a multi-million pound home at the heart of the constituency that has become a by-word for champagne socialism, Emily Thornberry lives in a very different world to many of Labour's core voters. The 54-year-old shadow attorney general was a human rights barrister before she was elected the MP for Islington South and Finsbury in 2005. Miss Thornberry and her High Court judge husband moved into the street, where homes are valued at up to £4.7milllion, in the same week as Tony and Cherie Blair, who lived there before moving to Downing Street. According to Commons documents, the couple's 'property empire' includes a flat in Guildford, Surrey. In 2007, her husband also bought a former housing association property in her constituency for more than £500,000. Shortly before winning her seat, it emerged the mother-of-three had sent her daughter to a selective school more than miles from her home and far outside her constituency. She refused to defend her decision describing it as a 'private' matter. Miss Thornberry'a family has excellent left wing credentials. Her father, Cedric, was a lawyer and lecturer at the London School of Economics who became an Assistant General Secretary at the United Nations. Her mother, Sallie, was a teacher and Labour councillor who went on to become Mayor of Guildford. After failing the 11 plus Miss Thornberry went on to read law at Kent University. She then joined the chambers of Michael Mansfield QC, the celebrity left wing barrister. Once in Parliament, she allied herself with the Brownites against Tony Blair and also found time to be chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group. She rebelled against the Government over 90 days detention powers for terror suspects. When Gordon Brown entered Downing Street, she put her first foot on the ministerial ladder as an aide in the Climate Change department, where she worked under Ed Miliband. She was the first MP to nominate Mr Miliband to be Labour leader when he stood against his brother in 2010. Her loyalty was rewarded with a shadow ministerial post and in April 2011 she was appointed Shadow Attorney General. She was also seen as a successful television performer, although last year she was embarrassed on Question Time by Michael Gove. He branded her arguments 'standard political boilerplate, fashioned by the Labour whips office. To her critics, Miss Thornberry was a snooty North Londoner who didn't understand the lives of ordinary people. And with her careless use of Twitter from the streets of Rochester, she appears to have proved them right.