Lord McAlpine has settled his libel action with Alan Davies over a tweet relating to false child sex abuse allegations, with the comedian agreeing to pay £15,000 in damages and issuing a warning to users of the social media service.
Last year Davies, a panellist on BBC2's QI, was one of a number of Twitter users who speculated that McAlpine was the subject of a BBC Newsnight report about a senior Conservative from the Thatcher era allegedly involved in child sex abuse.
The 47-year-old tweeted to his then almost 450,000 followers: "Any clues as to who the Tory paedophile is?" He subsequently retweeted a response naming McAlpine.
Davies, who at the time swiftly tweeted an apology, has agreed to pay McAlpine damages and legal costs and apologised through solicitors at the high court on Thursday.
"Mr Davies withdraws the allegation he made on Twitter unreservedly, and apologises sincerely to Lord McAlpine for the great damage and distress which his tweeting caused him," his lawyers said in a statement read out in court.
Davies' lawyers said that he did not intend to retweet the message which named McAlpine and that he hoped that the case will make other Twitter users "more aware of the potential damaging consequences of tweeting and be more careful how they use that platform".
The damages from the settlement, which comes two days after McAlpine settled with Sally Bercow over defamatory tweets, will be donated to the Royal Chelsea Hospital.
McAlpine's legal counsel Andrew Reid, of law firm RMPI, said that the comedian's "reckless retweet" of a defamatory statement "fanned the work of internet trolls".
"This case is a perfect example of the effect of recklessly retweeting a defamatory statement," he said. "There still remain people influenced by this tweet and all the apologies in the world are not going to put the situation back to where it was."
Reid added that McAlpine and his family have been caused "immeasurable distress which cannot be rectified".
He added: "The fact of the matter is that Mr Davies has irresponsibly fanned the work of the internet trolls who, despite sound bites and promises from the government, seem to be able to act with impunity from prosecution."
Davies said later, in a statement issued through his solicitors, Harbottle & Lewis: "It is almost a year since I inadvertently tweeted a message which named Lord McAlpine. Throughout I've stood by the original public apology I issued in November last year making clear the allegations about him were false.
"In an attempt to make amends I also made voluntary donations to the NSPCC totalling £13,000.
"I hoped those steps might avoid legal action but in March press reports appeared saying I was going to be sued for £200,000.
"I offered to pay £15,000 in damages plus a contribution to costs and agreed to make today's statement in court.
"From my own experience, I am able to warn others of the dangers of retweeting."
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