Tory caves under pressure with yet another ‘please retweet’ apology and substantial damages to charities in Liverpool and Islington
Jeremy Corbyn and his legal team have won yet another ‘please retweet’ victory over defamatory Conservatives. East Riding Tory councillor Paul Nickersen tweeted a photoshopped image of Corbyn laying a wreath for the Liverpool suicide bomber, but has now published a full public apology including a request for all readers to share the tweet for maximum coverage. Nickersen will also make a ‘substantial’ payment to charity in lieu of damages. The tweet and statement read:
In 2018, Tory MP Ben Bradley published what was aid to be the most popular Conservative party tweet in history after claiming Corbyn had spied for a foreign power. Corbyn was represented by Howe and Co, as was MP Jon Trickett in his case against right-wing hack Jon Rentoul, who had claimed Trickett was encouraging people to attack police officers when Trickett promoted the ‘Kill the Bill’ protests against the Tories draconian anti-protest bill.
Both victories included similar ‘please retweet’ provisions.
Responding to the victory, Corbyn said that Nickersen’s payment will be shared between a Liverpool charity and one in North Islington:
This substantial settlement will be used to support charities that are close to my heart: including one in Liverpool and one in my constituency.
So I welcome his decision to apologise for his defamatory post, to agree not to repeat the tweet which he has deleted and to pay substantial damages and legal costs.
Councillor Paul Nickerson’s photoshopped Twitter post about me failed to understand the seriousness of the threat and did a disservice to all those affected by the attack and their loved ones.
Congratulations to Jeremy and to Howe and Co.
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