A Conservative councillor who posted a fake picture of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn laying a wreath at a terrorist bombing has said sorry.
Paul Nickerson has also agreed to pay “substantial damages” for “making and sharing” the composite picture of the Mr Corbyn.
The doctored photograph showed Mr Corbyn walking towards the blazing taxi outside a bomb blast in Liverpool.
He is holding a wreath in his hands.
It was captioned “unsurprisingly”.
Mr Nickerson has since been suspended from the Conservative Party.
He said: “On 15 November 2021, a false defamatory statement, for which I accept full responsibility, was published on my Twitter account about Jeremy Corbyn MP.
“My apology is attached.
“I have agreed to pay substantial damages and legal costs to Mr Corbyn.
“The false photograph, captioned by the word ‘unsurprisingly’, gave the completely untrue impression that Jeremy Corbyn supports terrorist violence, including suicide bombings, which, without any hesitation, I wholly accept he does not.
“Without reservation, I fully withdraw any suggestion or inference that Jeremy Corbyn is a supporter of terrorist violence.
“The tweet was wrong, and I retract it.
“I unreservedly and sincerely apologise to Mr Corbyn for the hurt and distress that has been caused to him by the tweet.
“I entirely accept that the posting of the message the day after Remembrance Sunday aggravated the hurtful nature of the defamatory tweet.”
Mr Corbyn said: “The bomb attack on Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Remembrance Sunday was a horrific crime, which could have killed or maimed countless victims, including new mothers and their babies.
“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.
“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.
“This substantial settlement will be used to support charities that are close to my heart, including one in Liverpool and one in my constituency.”
