Labour MP Chris Bryant makes charity donation after claims disproved

Labour MP Chris Bryant has paid £1,000 to a Ukraine support fund after accepting allegations he made about a businessman in the Commons in 2018 had been "disproved".

The Rhondda MP said he was happy to set the record straight.

He said he had already done so in May this year in a Commons debate.

Earlier on Thursday, a lawyer for businessman Christopher Chandler read out a statement in open court.

Adrienne Page QC said: "It was not Mr Bryant's intention to repeat those allegations, which he accepts have subsequently been disproved.

"Mr Chandler is most grateful to Mr Bryant for his acceptance of this fact."

Ms Page added that her client did not seek legal fees from the MP, and that Mr Bryant had paid £1,000 to the UN's crisis relief fund for Ukraine in lieu of damages.

The court was told "serious" allegations were made in May 2018 during a Commons debate on the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill.

Some MPs claimed Mr Chandler was suspected of money laundering and being a Russian spy.

While such debates are protected from libel claims by parliamentary privilege, the Rhondda MP later quoted from his comments in the debate in a letter to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in March, and posted the letter on Twitter.

Mr Chandler, a billionaire who founded the Dubai-based private investment firm Legatum, began legal proceedings, which have now been dropped.

The businessman's legal team claimed the case was the first time a sitting MP had been "held accountable" for quoting words they had previously said in Parliament.

CORRECTION 28 JULY 2022: This story has been updated to reflect that Mr Bryant did not apologise in court, merely that a statement was read in court from Mr Chandler's lawyer, which said Mr Bryant accepted the initial allegation was disproved