Former Conservative politician Lord McAlpine is expected to reach a settlement with the BBc after a Newsnight investigation wrongly implicated him in child abuse allegations.

Speaking for the first time since the allegations, McAlpine told BBC Radio 4's The World at One that the false accusations had left him angry and had 'got to his soul'.

The original programme, broadcast on 2<sup>nd Novmber, looked into claims of a paedophile ring existing at the Bryn Estyn care home in North Wales. McAlpine was not named directly in the programme, but was linked to the allegations after being widely cited on the internet and social media sites such as Twitter.

A BBC report concluded that "some of the basic journalistic checks were not completed" before the Newsnight programme was broadcast on 2 November, condemning the fact that McAlpine was offered no "right of reply" to the accusations, and that a photo of McAlpine was never shown to his accuser.

Lawyers for McAlpine have confirmed that they were taking legal action against the BBC, and have also indicated they will seek settlements against all the journalists who linked him to the Newsnight child abuse allegations on Twitter.

The scandal has already seen the BBC's Director General George Entwhistle resign after just seven weeks as head of the corporation.

Written and presented by Alfred Joyner