Jacob Rees-Mogg admits error over false claim regarding Jeremy Corbyn
Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has admitted he was wrong to claim Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn voted against the Good Friday Agreement.
The arch-Brexiteer came under fire for making the incorrect statement on Channel 4 News as he defended his stance on EU withdrawal and the Northern Irish border issue.
Asked if it was worth sacrificing peace in Northern Ireland for Brexit, the Tory MP said: "I am unaware of any Brexiteer who is in favour of abandoning the Good Friday Agreement. It's Jeremy Corbyn, incidentally, who voted against the Good Friday Agreement when it came to Parliament"
Mea culpa, I was wrong to say that Mr Corbyn voted against the Good Friday Agreement. He did not.
-- Jacob Rees-Mogg (@Jacob_Rees_Mogg) March 1, 2018
In a tweet that stopped short of a full apology, Mr Rees-Mogg later accepted he had been incorrect.
He said: "Mea culpa, I was wrong to say that Mr Corbyn voted against the Good Friday Agreement. He did not."
Mr Corbyn backed the landmark 1998 Good Friday peace deal, but had previously opposed the Anglo-Irish Agreement of the 1980's.
Referring to Mr Rees-Mogg's original claim, Labour's shadow education secretary Angela Rayner tweeted: "I am sure the newly formed intrepid Tory #fakenews unit will swing into action, investigate and then correct this mistake? Oh wait......."
