NEW Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has apologised after a post on his Twitter feed suggested gay people could be "cured".
Mr Farron insisted hackers had accessed his account and written the message in response to a tweet from the British Humanist Association (BHA).
The BHA had cited a study showing some health workers in the UK believe "homosexuality is curable".
The reply from @timfarron said: "They can be, most sexual disorientation is caused by chemical leaching ... check out fish and frogs."
The message was later deleted.
Mr Farron stressed that he actually wanted to "ban conversion therapy".
"I am investigating after a fake and malicious tweet appeared to be posted from my account this evening," he wrote.
"I apologise for any offence caused."
The LibDem leader, an evangelical Christian, has been criticised previously for abstaining in a vote on gay marriage during the last parliament, but has insisted his decision to abstain did not mean he opposed equal marriage.
In an interview shortly after the General Election in May, he said he regretted abstaining and added that he “will fight very hard against any attempts to water it [equal marriage legislation] down".
Mr Farron also received support this week from the Free Church of Scotland, whose moderator Rev David Robertson said he had been treated unfairly by the BBC and Channel 4 because of his religious beliefs.
Mr Robertson said: “John Humphreys would never badger Nick Clegg about the impact his atheism would have on his decision making.
“Nor would Channel 4 repeatedly challenge the former Lib Dem leader’s personal moral views and the fact that he had boasted of having ‘no more than 30 notches’ on his bed."
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