Lord McAlpine wants payouts donated to Children in Need

Compensation from defamatory Twitter posts about Lord McAlpine will be donated to the BBC's Children in Need, it was revealed last night.

The Conservative Party peer has asked those who linked him to child-abuse allegations on the social-networking site to apologise formally and pay a "sensible and modest amount".

"The fixed donation amount is yet to be assessed. However, this will be to Lord McAlpine's charity of choice, BBC Children in Need, and will be in addition to an administration fee," a statement from Lord McAlpine's lawyers said.

The donation is intended for Twitter users with fewer than 500 followers. It is understood the deal does not cover the £185,000 payout from the BBC over the Newsnight programme that sparked the wave of online speculation.

Lord McAlpine's solicitor, Andrew Reid, has said action is being considered against a "very long list" of Twitter users.