Bradford East MP, David Ward, and his party have issued a joint apology for tweets in relation to the current conflict in Gaza.
The Liberal Democrat MP was accused of the offence of ‘encouragment to terrorism’ after tweeting that if he lived in Gaza he would ‘probably’ fire a rocket.
Mr Ward had initially declined to apologise for the comments he made in the tweet, but today he apologised if his comments gave the impression he supported the rocket attacks on Israel and he went on to condemn the actions of Hamas.
He said: “I utterly condemn the violence on both sides in Israel and Gaza.
“I condemn the actions of Hamas, and my comments were not in support of firing rockets into Israel. If they gave the opposite impression, I apologise.
“However, while I defend the right of Israel to exist and defend itself, I will continue to speak out for the rights of the Palestinian people who are facing untold suffering. More must be done by the world community to end this humanitarian crisis and protect the families living in Gaza. I can understand their plight and desperation.”
The Bradford East MP had previously tweeted the following:
After the piost was tweeted MP Nadim Zahawi accused Mr Ward of encouragement to terrorism, a criminal offence which can carry severe punishment, and called for an investigation into the comments.
In response to the outcry a spokesman from Liberal Democrates issued a joint statement with Mr Ward and said: “This is a categorical apology from David Ward. In light of this apology, the party and the whips will decide in due course if further disciplinary action should be taken.”