Martin Lewis has been brutally accused of lying as he shared an anecdote about his child on social media.
The Money Saving Expert took to Twitter on Wednesday to recall a sweet conversation he had with his young daughter Sapphire, 9, about politics with his followers, but was forced to delete the post after being flooded with replies suggesting he had made up the exchange.
Martin - who is currently taking a 'long break' from Good Morning Britain - described Twitter as 'really is a horrible place sometimes' as explained why he had deleted the post in a follow up tweet and asked his followers to consider why he would 'bother making something like that up'.
The financial guru and former 5 News weather presenter Lara Lewington welcomed Sapphire into the world together in 2012, after the happy couple tied the knot in 2009. Martin often refers to his daughter as 'mini MSE' when talking about her on social media.
The now-deleted post that sparked all the controversary online reads: ""Just been blown away by mini MSE (aged 9).
"I asked her if she knew what the government's job is.
"She simply replied: 'The government's job is to help shape the country.'"
The proud father concluded with: "Brilliant and succinct."
Within minutes of Martin sharing the tweet with his 1.9million followers on Wednesday, many Twitter users decided to tag the Didn’t Happen of the Year Awards (@_DHOTYA) account underneath the star's update- suggesting the Good Morning Britain presenter had fabricated the conversation with his daughter in the hope of getting retweets.
The Didn’t Happen of the Year Awards account runs an annual event which allows Twitter users to vote for the funniest and most elaborate suspected lies they have spotted on the social media platform throughout the year - with celebrities often shortlisted in the final.
Britney Spears claiming to have run the 100m in a little over five seconds and Chris Eubank telling his followers he was conned out of winning $100,000 on the American lottery as an 18-year-old have been amongst the celebrity anecdotes nominated for a Didn't Happen of the Year Award over the years.
After deleted his original tweet, Martin took to Twitter once again to write: "Twitter really is a horrible place sometimes. I tweeted a nice little comment about my little girl. Only to get lots of @_DHOTYA replies.
"Why would i bother making something like that up. I was proud of her. I've deleted it, as i can't be bothered with people who want to ruin it."
He went on to add: "Just to clarify this wasn't the @_DHOTYA account, it was people copying it in."
The Didn't Happen of the Year Awards account was quick to support Martin in the replies, writing: "Didn’t see the post - but if anybody has ever earned immunity from DHOTYA this year it’s Martin Lewis."
Another fan agreed, tweeting: "I think he’s earnt a lifetime immunity award. He’s one of, if not the most trustworthy person in the media at the moment. He tells it how it is and all he does is try to help people. Which is more than can be said for many other people. He’s a national treasure."
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