Sheffield rock star Jon McClure apologises to Countdown's Rachel Riley for being a 'd***head'

He admitted making what he called ‘several mean-spirited and unnecessary comments’ about the TV presenter, and retweeting defamatory tweets.

He also apologised to the actress Tracy Ann Oberman, who sought to defend the maths whizz, for any hurt or offence he caused them.

He said he hoped the three of them could meet to ‘discuss that which divides us and in the spirit of peace and reconciliation come to a mutual understanding of each other’s political views’.

They both accepted his apology, which he shared today on Twitter.

Ms Riley said: “I’m pleased Jon McClure has taken responsibility for his actions and apologised. @TracyAnnO and I wish to draw a line under this and accept this apology. Thank you.”

Ms Oberman tweeted: “Here is the apology from @Reverend_Makers for reposting lies and smears which were racially motivated to support @UKLabour. Thank you Jon McClure. I accept your apology.”

Making the apology, Mr McClure wrote: “I’ll be the first to admit that I can be a d***head on Twitter.

“A few weeks ago I made several mean-spirited and unnecessary comments about Rachel Riley.

“The result was that I got into a political argument with the well-known actress Tracy Ann Oberman, who had justifiably sought to defend her friend.

“This concluded with my retweeting defamatory tweets, including an article about both of them, which it transpores contained a number of factual inaccuracies.

“I did so in a rather childish spirit of point-scoring and freely admit I ought to have read the entirety of the article before republishing and believing it to be the truth.

“I’ve come to learn that much of what has been spread has been done by those with deeply Antisemitic beliefs, which I wholly disown, and I truly regret my part in lending them false credibility through my own naivety and lack of research.

“With that in mind, I wish to apologise to both Rachel and Tracy for any hurt or offence that has been caused to them as a result of my actions.

“It is my sincere wish that the three of us may meet at some future date and discuss that which divides us and in the spirit of peace and reconciliation come to a mutual understanding of each other’s political views.

“The blame lies with me for causing this argument and this apology has been issued not at their urging but of my own volition.”