alan sugar
Lord Sugar was appointed as the Conservative Party's 'enterprise Tsar' in late May. Getty

The Daily Mail has paid Lord Sugar £20,000 after apologising for calling him a "spiv" in one of their articles. The Apprentice star took to Twitter to post an image of himself holding a giant fake cheque that was "signed" by the Daily Mail's editor, Paul Dacre.

Sugar said he would be donating the money to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity in London. The cheque posted on Twitter mocks the Daily Mail, referring to them as the "Daily (Liar) Mail Rag" and appears to be paid out by the "Bank of Deceit PLC, Vindictive House, Scum Lane".

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The Daily Mail published an apology to Sugar on 4 July, stating: "An article published on May 26 described Lord Sugar as a 'spiv'. This word may be understood to describe a person who is dishonest in his business dealings. We are happy to confirm that this was not the intended meaning, as indeed the article stated he is honest and hard-working."

The reference to Sugar being a "spiv" was published in the headline of a comment article written by Stephen Glover about David Cameron appointing sugar as the new Tory "enterprise tsar". In his role, Sugar will "champion enterprise across the country" and participate in a roadshow that will highlight the advantages of apprentices.

Following his appointment, Sugar said: "I'm delighted to be taking on this challenge. I built successful businesses with the support of hundreds of talented young people who learned their skills on the job – exactly the kinds of skills you learn in an apprenticeship."

He added that not enough young people know about apprenticeships and few feel empowered to set up their own businesses. He said that this was his chance to "instil some entrepreneurial spirit" into the country's youth.