A hoax claiming that a very much alive Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu had died in hospital in Houston, while on holiday in hte USA  was distressing, his daughter Mpho has said.

Reacting to a recent fake news story that caused a Twitter storm, she said her 84-year-old dad wasn’t on his iPad at the time so she did not think it affected him adversely.

She felt these fake stories were “very disturbing and incredibly unkind to not only the family but to people around the world who really do love and care and support the Arch”.

Family members received panicked calls from friends to ask where he was and if he was okay. The Courier received a message this morning with a link from the New York Times claiming Tutu had taken ill and had died in hospital.