‘I didn’t mean the jury got it wrong in my tweet on trial’ – Ó Ríordáin
SENATOR Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has apologised for a tweet he posted about the Belfast rape trial.
He said the message had not been designed to suggest the men involved were guilty.
Earlier this month, Paddy Jackson (26) and teammate Stuart Olding (25) were unanimously acquitted of raping the same woman, after a nine-week trial at Belfast Crown Court.
The jury of eight men and three women also returned a unanimous not-guilty verdict to a sexual assault charge against Mr Jackson.
Two other men were acquitted of lesser charges connected to the alleged incident in June 2016.
The Labour senator posted his tweet on March 28 – the day of the verdict – and later deleted the message.
Mr Jackson’s solicitors, KRW Law, said it had no choice but to launch defamation proceedings.
However, yesterday Mr Ó Ríordáin said: “My tweet of March 28 concerning the Belfast rape trial was not designed or intended to suggest that either Paddy Jackson or any of the other accused men were guilty or that the jury got it wrong.
“I apologise for any suggestion to the contrary. I accept that I was not privy to all the evidence put before the jury during the trial.
“I will not be making any further comment.”
Damages are not believed to have been paid.
It followed Mr Jackson’s own apology last Friday, when he admitted WhatsApp messages were “degrading and offensive”.
He accepted public criticism of his behaviour was “fully justified” and he had “betrayed the values of my family and those of the wider public”.