He added that "one of the reasons that happened" was because Labour "were bandying around guesstimates".

BBC: Nick Clegg on LBC

The French and Italians share that pleasure in the bandying about of ideas, and have taken to their heart another, now almost forgotten, English novelist.

ECONOMIST: English novelists

"We do have to be very careful before casting aspersions against individuals or bandying people's names around, as was done yesterday, without any evidence, " he said.

BBC: Lord McAlpine says abuse claims false and defamatory