McAlpine drops Twitter actions

Lord McAlpine said in a statement today: "Whilst I reached a settlement last year with both the BBC and ITV, I would like to now draw this unfortunate episode, forced into my life, to a close

"I have dropped all claims against those tweeters with less than 500 followers, in return for a very modest donation to BBC Children In Need, which funds 2,600 projects supporting disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.

"I have requested that my lawyers, RMPI LLP, focus on the action against Sally Bercow and that damages arising from this are donated to a charity of her choice. I am not intending to make any further comment on this matter."

• Lord McAlpine was wrongly implicated by Newsnight on November 2, 2012, as being part of a paedophile ring which targeted children at a care home in Wrexham.
• His name was then widely mentioned on the internet, particularly Twitter.

• The former Tory politician reached a £185,000 settlement with the BBC for its botched investigation.
• He also received £125,000 from ITV and Phillip Schofield relating to a This Morning programme broadcast on November 8.

• Lord McAlpine is pursuing Sally Bercow, wife of Commons speaker John, over comments she made on the social networking site.

Lord McAlpine, who announced he was dropping defamation claims against Twitter users with less than 500 followers, said he wanted to draw the "unfortunate episode" to a close.

He has written to those tweeters and asked them to make a voluntary donation of £25 to the BBC's Children In Need as soon as possible.

Lord McAlpine has dropped defamation claims against Twitter users with fewer than 500 followers who wrongly named him as a paedophile, instead asking for a donation to the BBC's Children In Need, he said.