Lewis Hamilton 'clarifies thoughts' after sharing Bill Gates vaccine clip

Lewis Hamilton says he is "not against a vaccine" and that it "will be important in the fight against coronavirus"

F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has moved to "clarify his thoughts" after he shared a video on social media that accused Microsoft founder Bill Gates of lying about a coronavirus vaccine.

He shared the post for 13 hours on his Instagram to 18 million followers.

But in a new post he says he "hadn't seen the comment attached", referring to the original post's caption 'I remember when I told my first lie'.

In the video, Gates addressed concerns about side effects in vaccine trials.

Hamilton added the original post to his own Instagram stories.

"I've noticed some comments on my earlier post around the coronavirus vaccine, and want to clarify my thoughts on it, as I understand why they may have been misinterpreted," Hamilton said.

"Firstly I hadn't actually seen the comment attached so that is totally my fault and I have a lot of respect for the charity work Bill Gates does."

In the video, Gates addresses concerns about side effects reported during ongoing vaccine trials - and also dismisses unfounded rumours that the vaccines are a way of microchipping people, claims which BBC Reality Check has debunked.

However, the caption suggests that both his dismissal and reassurances about the vaccine are untrue.

Hamilton added that he's "not against a vaccine" and that it "will be important in the fight against coronavirus".