Tom and Giovanna Fletcher apologise for 'huge error in judgement' over furlough use

Tom and Giovanna Fletcher have admitted making "a huge error in judgement" by claiming money through the government's furlough scheme.

Over the weekend, The Sun reported that the McFly musician and I'm a Celebrity winner had claimed thousands of pounds of government money, which is designed for people who have been furloughed from their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A representative for the pair declined to comment at the time, but on Tuesday, they shared a joint statement on their respective Instagram pages. In the message, they disputed the figures reported in the article but acknowledged that they used the scheme to pay a member of their team that they'd placed on furlough and admitted they should have funded it themselves.

"Hi everyone, we have always had a very honest and open relationship with you all on here so we thought it was important to address questions that some of you have rightly asked us in the last 24 hours," they wrote.

"This was for a member of our team who couldn't carry out their role due to the pandemic, and the scheme was suggested to us as the most effective way to give them job stability and security. Although it was a time of great uncertainty, we clearly should have thought more about the situation and funded it ourselves.

"It was a huge error of judgement and a mistake we wholeheartedly take responsibility for and we have paid the full amount back."

According to The Sun, a HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) register of claims shows the pair received furlough support shortly after Giovanna won I'm a Celeb in December.