An MP has donated £14,268 to Comic Relief after saying she would donate a pound for every retweet she received on Twitter within 35 minutes.
Fiona Mactaggart, the Labour MP for Slough in Berkshire, admitted she was getting a bit worried as the number of retweets surged.
She posted a message at 8:25pm on Friday reading: “I will give £1.00 to Comic relief for every retweet of this message before 9pm.”
Thirty-five minutes later, the Glasgow-born politician was taking a five-figure hit on her savings.
“It was spur of the moment. I had planned to give all day but doing it that way was spur of the moment,” the 59-year-old said.
“When I was a teacher, before I was an MP, I taught for the whole day dressed up as a chicken, and got sponsored for Red Nose Day.
“I am prepared to do peculiar things for this good cause.”
She is the daughter of the late multi-millionaire Glasgow property developer Ian Mactaggart.
“I don’t think many politicians can afford to do what I did. But I do think we should be more imaginative about it,” she said.
Mactaggart is not planning to post any more Twitter donation pledges.
This year’s Red Nose Day has raised more than £75 million so far.
MP gives £14,268 to Comic Relief after Twitter pledge
