Tory MP Ben Bradley sparked outrage last week with a baseless, tweeted accusation that Jeremy Corbyn had ‘sold British secrets to communist spies’. The tweet prompted a letter to Bradley from Corbyn’s lawyers, insisting that Bradley issue an unreserved apology, ask his followers to share it and make a significant donation to charities of Corbyn’s choice – or face court action.
Bradley rapidly deleted his ill-judged tweet.
But today Bradley did everything that Corbyn had demanded, in a humiliating climbdown. Spot the keywords it’s believed Corbyn’s lawyers insisted he repeat to an embarrassing degree:
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.
Will his admission of a completely ‘false and untrue’ statement cost him his position as a vice-chair of the Tory party?
Bradley has also previously caused outrage by social media messages about ‘splatting chavs’ and sterilising poor people – so it’s a neat twist that Corbyn made him pay his ‘undisclosed substantial sum of money’ to a food bank and a homelessness charity.
In Bradley’s own constituency of Mansfield.
Only time will tell whether he’s learned anything lasting from this experience, but local homeless or hungry people will no doubt be glad of his rash tweet – at least until the next General Election. Assuming he makes it that far.
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Ben Bradley you are one prize idiot!
Great news that Ken Livingstone is now back in the Party. It’s turning out to be a fantastic 24hr.
Almost 3 hours later still nothing on his Twitter timeline!
Look at Jeremy’s measured response to the worm Bradley and his perfectly-judged speech to the EEF on Tuesday.
https://labour.org.uk/press/jeremy-corbyn-speech-eef/
Calm and in control despite a blizzard of lies and damned lies from the gobshite wing of the Tory party.
Auntie May, just so you’ll know next time what strong and stable actually looks like – he’ll be right there in front of you again on Wednesday.
Give it up, you’re overmatched.
Does this clear and precise admission from Bradley now mean Brandon Lewis has no option other than to sack Bradley? Unless, his words are just hollow and stand for nothing, in which case Lewis should consider his position. What more evidence would he need to act?
Somebody should publish his itinerary so every time he shows his Milky-Bar-Kid-gone-bad face in public a crowd forms round him pointing & laughing like Nelson Muntz.
Definitely sack the lying B******d
Nice one Jeremy..
When Bradshaw loses his seat at the next election that will be the end of his political career as the Tories will have him out on his ear. No longer the ‘useful idiot’ who manage to scrape home last time he’s now just an increasing liability. The very idea that they would trust such a talent with a safe Conservative seat to fight any time in the future is laughable.
Opps slip of the keyboard there obviously I mean Ben BRADLEY not Bradshaw. There’s too many “Bens” in politics these days.
Oh, bradshaw’d be no great loss, neither 🙂
Corbyn should’ve gone further & made the bradley idiot take part in a photoshoot whilst handing over the cheque(s).
Anyway, I sincerely hope this ‘substantial amount’ is enough to leave bradley in similar financial hardship as to what him & his felllow rats have inflicted on the rest of us…
I’m no expert on libel but had one of the rags printed that, I reckon they’d have been looking at a £100k+ payout…bradley’s got off EXEEDINGLY lightly in my opinion.
No way would Corbyn have had such a ‘fair crack of the whip’ had it been t’other way about.
Unfortunately, this is not correct.
If he simply loses his seat then he can get selected elsewhere like Esther McVey did.
However, If he is heavily defeated, then the less chance that he will return elsewhere. It is important that people understand that and act accordingly.
A massive effort will be needed to ensure that he does not re-emerge elsewhere like Esther McVey has done.
Would’ve been better if a libel case brought by Corbyn had bankrupted him.
Like I said, bradley’s got off VERY lightly.
‘EXCEEDINGLY’ (Keyboard’s on it’s way out, D’oh!)