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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| MP Ben Bradley apologises for Corbyn tweet | MP Ben Bradley apologises for Corbyn tweet |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| A Tory MP has apologised for posting a tweet in which he said Jeremy Corbyn had passed British secrets to a spy from communist Czechoslovakia. | A Tory MP has apologised for posting a tweet in which he said Jeremy Corbyn had passed British secrets to a spy from communist Czechoslovakia. |
| Ben Bradley said the now deleted tweet was "wholly untrue and false". | Ben Bradley said the now deleted tweet was "wholly untrue and false". |
| He will also donate an undisclosed sum to a charity supported by the Labour leader and has agreed not to repeat the allegation. | He will also donate an undisclosed sum to a charity supported by the Labour leader and has agreed not to repeat the allegation. |
| Labour had said a Sun story about Mr Corbyn having contact with a Czech spy in the 1980s was "absurd". | Labour had said a Sun story about Mr Corbyn having contact with a Czech spy in the 1980s was "absurd". |
| A spokesman denied that Mr Corbyn ever acted as a collaborator or agent of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. | A spokesman denied that Mr Corbyn ever acted as a collaborator or agent of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. |
| Labour said Mr Bradley agreed to tweet an apology that says: "On 19 February 2018 I made a seriously defamatory statement on my Twitter account, 'Ben Bradley MP (@bbradleymp)', about Jeremy Corbyn, alleging he sold British secrets to communist spies. | |
| "I have since deleted the defamatory tweet. I have agreed to pay an undisclosed substantial sum of money to a charity of his choice, and I will also pay his legal costs. | |
| "I fully accept that my statement was wholly untrue and false. I accept that I caused distress and upset to Jeremy Corbyn by my untrue and false allegations, suggesting he had betrayed his country by collaborating with foreign spies. | |
| "I am very sorry for publishing this untrue and false statement and I have no hesitation in offering my unreserved and unconditional apology to Jeremy Corbyn for the distress I have caused him." | |
| He had been threatened with legal action over his tweet. | He had been threatened with legal action over his tweet. |
| Mr Bradley will make a donation to a foodbank and a homeless charity in his Mansfield constituency. | |
| A spokesperson for Mr Corbyn said: "We are pleased Ben Bradley has admitted what he said was entirely untrue and apologised, and that charities in Mansfield will benefit. | |
| "Following the botched smear campaign against Jeremy, this case shows we are not going to let dangerous lies go unchallenged." |