Breitbart News tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos has resigned after he triggered a storm with comments which appeared to condone paedophilia.

The writer and right-wing firebrand apologised for his remarks to reporters in New York on Tuesday.

Mr Yiannopoulos, 32, who is British, said experiences as a victim of sexual abuse as a teenager had made him feel he could say outrageous things on the subject.

He said that was a mistake, and that he did not intend to suggest sexual abuse of minors is ok.

He said: "I would be wrong to allow my poor choice of words to detract from my colleagues' important reporting.


"So today I am resigning from Breitbart, effective immediately. This decision is mine alone.

Image: Mr Yiannopoulos has also lost a book deal after the comments

"My own experiences as a victim led me to believe I could say anything I wanted on this subject, no matter how outrageous.

"But I understand that my usual blend of British sarcasm, provocation and gallows humour might have come across as flippancy, a lack of care for other victims or, worse, 'advocacy'.

"I would like to restate my disgust at adults who sexually abuse minors. I am horrified by paedophilia and I have devoted large portions of my career as a journalist to exposing child abusers."

On Monday, an invitation to the Conservative Political Action Conference was rescinded after video of his remarks was posted on social media by a conservative blog.

Image: A talk by the right-wing firebrand sparked protests at the University of California, Berkeley

In the video, he tells a radio host that the term paedophilia should not apply to a "sexual attraction to somebody 13 years old who is sexually mature", and he calls the age of consent "arbitrary and oppressive".

Publisher Simon & Schuster also announced it was cancelling the publication of his upcoming book, Dangerous.

Breitbart News said in a statement it had accepted Mr Yiannopoulos' resignation, and added that his "bold voice has sparked much-needed debate on important cultural topics".

Mr Yiannapolous is an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump.

Last year, he was banned from Twitter for provoking online harassment of black actress Leslie Jones.

Earlier this month, the University of California, Berkeley, cancelled his talk after protests turned violent on campus.