Comedian Sue Perkins apologises over inaccurate tweet…

Comedian Sue Perkins apologises over inaccurate tweet claiming Notts MP was 'mocking NHS staff'

Comedian and presenter Sue Perkins has apologised after she retweeted a tweet which wrongly claimed a Nottinghamshire MP had been mocking NHS staff. The tweet depicted Bassetlaw's Conservative MP Brendan Clarke-Smith in underpants and its author Russ Jones, who has 254,000 followers, incorrectly claimed it was a face mask used to mock those suffering in the Covid pandemic.

The image, in fact, had been taken during a waxing fundraiser in 2011 where Mr Clarke-Smith had been raising money for local charities. One charity included the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance.

Mr Jones' inaccurate tweet remains on Twitter with hundreds of retweets. One of these had been comedian and presenter Sue Perkins, who has written numerous popular books as well as co-presented The Great British Bake-Off.

She said on Twitter to her 1.2 million followers: "I messed up and want to offer a correction. I retweeted a post about [Brendan] without fact-checking. The picture of him was not taken during the pandemic, nor was he mocking NHS staff.

"He was fund-raising. I’d like to offer him my sincerest apologies for any upset caused. I am also making a donation to the British Heart Foundation and the Lincs and Notts Air-Ambulance, both of which are charities he supports."

Explaining the photo Mr Clarke-Smith added: "The image of me being circulated online is from a waxing fundraiser I participated in back in August 2011. It raised money for two charities - the British Heart Foundation and Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance - who have and continue to save many lives.

"People online falsely stating I was mocking the use of face masks or denigrating NHS workers during the pandemic are intent on poisoning our politics. They should be ashamed of themselves.

"I will continue to raise money for charity and hope these trolls choose to devote their time and energy to something more positive in future."

Mr Clarke-Smith has just recently been promoted to the position of junior education minister. The former teacher had remained in support of Prime Minister Boris Johnson even amid growing controversy and after countless scandals which left the Conservative Government, and its reputation, in ruins.

James Cleverly, the new secretary of state for education who was appointed amid the turmoil, stood by the Bassetlaw MP, stating: "A deceitful and malicious tweet has been spread by many people who should know better. Brendan was taking part in a light-hearted charity fundraiser over a decade ago. I think a few apologies are in order."

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