Regret the Error

In our issue of 22 March, we published a review by Sir Peregrine Worsthorne of Stephen Robinson’s biography of Lord Deedes. The review was edited, against Sir Peregrine’s wishes, leaving the reader with the incorrect impression that Lord Deedes had called his colleagues a ‘stinking mob’.
We carried a letter by Stephen Robinson on 29 March making clear that, in fact, Lord Deedes was referring specifically to the management of the company when he used this expression. We would like to apologise further to Sir Peregrine for the error.

Some background from the Guardian:

The Spectator has published an apology after a book review by former Sunday Telegraph editor Sir Peregrine Worsthorne was edited to remove a critical reference to the magazine’s owners, the Barclay brothers.
Worsthorne complained to the Press Complaints Commission after his review of Stephen Robinson’s biography of former Daily Telegraph editor Lord Deedes was changed to make it appear that the veteran writer had described his colleagues as a “stinking mob”, when in fact he had been referring to the paper’s management.
“The review was edited, against Sir Peregrine’s wishes, leaving the reader with the incorrect impression that Lord Deedes had called his colleagues a ‘stinking mob’,” stated the apology, published on page 45 of this week’s issue of the Spectator, dated June 14.
“We carried a letter by Stephen Robinson on March 29 making clear that, in fact, Lord Deedes was referring specifically to the management of the company when he used this expression. We would like to apologise further to Sir Peregrine for the error.”
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