New NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless took to Twitter yesterday to distance the charity from a local branch chair who had given convicted paedophile Stuart Hall a character reference during his court case.

Patricia Macmillan, who was chair of NSPCC’s East Cheshire branch, defended Hall in a letter to the court on the grounds of his charity work.

As people online criticised her actions, Wanless took to Twitter to clarify that Macmillan had given the statement in a personal capacity, and it was not on behalf of the NSPCC. Wanless also personally responded to a number of tweets.

Macmillan stepped down from her role yesterday.

In a statement, the NSPCC said: “The NSPCC did not supply a character reference for Stuart Hall. The views were of a volunteer speaking in a personal capacity and do not in any way reflect the views of the NSPCC. Child sexual abusers like Hall do lifelong harm to children and we believe that if found guilty they should be sent to jail.”

Hall, a former BBC presenter, was jailed for 15 months at Preston Crown Court yesterday for abusing girls as young as nine.

See Peter Wanless's tweets below (click to make larger):