A Dublin Senator has apologised for a tweet he sent after the Belfast rugby rape trial, saying it wasn't designed to suggest any of the men acquitted were guilty.
Rugby player Paddy Jackson had launched legal proceedings against Aodhan O'Riordain for defamation.
Rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, as well as two other men, were acquitted of all charges following an allegation by a Belfast woman that she had been raped at Mr Jackson's home.
The ruling drew a massive amount of commentary online, including a tweet from Senator Aodhan O'Riordain which Mr Jackson and his legal team judged to be defamatory.
Mr Jackson's lawyers issued a notice of intention to sue Mr O'Riordain.
This morning the Senator apologised for his tweet.
He said it wasn't designed to suggest that Mr Jackson or any of the other accused men were guilty, or that the jury got it wrong.
He apologised for any suggestion to the contrary, and said he accepts he wasn't privy to all the evidence put before the jury during the trial.
