Jacob Rees-Mogg admits to false Jeremy Corbyn Good Friday Agreement claim

John Ashmore

Jacob Rees-Mogg has issued a "mea culpa" after falsely claiming that Jeremy Corbyn voted against the Good Friday Agreement.



Prominent Brexiteers have cast doubt on the future of the GFA, with Labour MP Kate Hoey last week questioning whether power-sharing was "sustainable in the long-term", given that Sinn Fein are committed to a united Ireland.

Appearing on Channel 4 News last night, Mr Rees-Mogg claimed that Mr Corbyn had opposed the deal in a Commons vote on the Northern Ireland Bill in 1998.

"I'm unaware of any Brexiteer who is in favour of abandoning the Good Friday Agreement," he said.

"It's Jeremy Corbyn incidently who voted against the Good Friday Agreement when it came to Parliament."

Mr Corbyn in fact voted in favour of the Good Friday Agreement, although he did vote against the Anglo-Irish agreement early in his parliamentary career in 1985.

Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner was quick to call out the Tory eurosceptic on Twitter.

Jacob Rees-Mogg said on Channel 4 news tonight that Jeremy Corbyn voted against the Good Friday Agreement, when in fact he voted for it! I am sure the newly formed intrepid Tory #fakenews unit will swing into action, investigate and then correct this mistake? Oh wait....... — Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) February 28, 2018

This morning Mr Rees-Mogg corrected his statement and offered a "mea culpa".

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

Mr Rees-Mogg is the second prominent Tory MP in recent weeks to have to apologise to the Labour leader.

One of the party's vice-chairs, Ben Bradley, was forced into a grovelling apology after he falsely claimed that Mr Corbyn had sold British secrets to a Czech spy.

"I am very sorry for publishing this untrue and false statement and I have no hesitation in offering my unreserved and unconditional apology to Jeremy Corbyn for the distress I have caused him," the Mansfield MP said in a statement last week.

Mr Bradley's tweet of his apology has so far been retweeted 55,000 times, making it the most shared post ever from a Conservative MP.

On the 19th of February I made a defamatory statement about @jeremycorbyn. I have apologised to Mr Corbyn and here is the complete text of my apology. Please retweet. pic.twitter.com/6JZc8O9E82 — Ben Bradley MP (@bbradleymp) February 24, 2018