Tag Archives: apologies

Apology

November 18, 2009 – 8:00 am

expressOur August 5th article “Strictly out of Step about changes to the television programme “Strictly Come Dancing” said that Sharon Osbourne had decided against appearing on it because the money on it was “ridiculous”. We are happy to accept that this is incorrect. Sharon Osbourne decided against appearing on it because of her work commitments and busy schedule in America. We apologise for any embarrassment caused. Link

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Newspapers | Also tagged | Comments

Apology

November 16, 2009 – 8:00 am

sundaytelegraphFOLLOWING last Sunday’s story (”Charles goes on health drive after hospital scare”) Clarence House has asked us to make it clear that the Prince of Wales was not rushed to hospital in the summer. Nor were there any fears he was having a heart attack. The hospital visit of which we were informed was a routinely scheduled check-up.
We are happy to make this clear and apologise to His Royal Highness. Link

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Apology

November 16, 2009 – 8:00 am

torontosunA story in the November 9 edition of the Toronto Sun quoted several unsupported allegations about “alleged misspending” and “influence peddling” involving the Toronto Port Authority. The Toronto Sun has no knowledge and is aware of no evidence to substantiate those allegations. The article also wrongly cited claims that the TPA “cost taxpayers $10 million a year” when in fact it has been profitable in 2008 and 2009 and pays a royalty to the federal government. The Sun apologizes for the errors, innuendo and any injury or inconvenience that may have resulted from the publication of the article. Link

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Apology

November 16, 2009 – 8:00 am

dailystarON 18 September 2009, we published an article in which Warren Furman, also known as the Gladiator “Ace”, was reported as denying “internet rumours” that he had raped Jordan. In doing so, the article implied that these “rumours” were sufficiently serious to require a response from Mr Furman.
In fact the “internet rumours” consisted of very few ambiguous posts on an internet chat forum.

They have since been deleted. We wish to make it clear that neither the posts nor any other matter, provided the basis for the false suggestions that Mr Furman may have raped Jordan. We apologise unreservedly to Mr Furman for the distress and offence caused to him by the article appearing to suggest otherwise.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Also tagged , , | Comments

Late entry for apology of the year

November 11, 2009 – 8:00 am

mirroruk2ON 17 July 2008 in our front page article “Ron the Lash” we falsely reported that whilst recovering from an operation to his ankle Cristiano Ronaldo had “gone on a bender” at a Hollywood nightclub where he splashed out pounds 10,000 on champagne and vodka and threw his crutches to the ground and tried to dance on his uninjured foot.
We now accept that Cristiano did not “go on a bender”, did not drink any alcohol that evening, did not spend pounds 10,000 on alcohol, nor throw his crutches to the floor or try to dance.

We also accept that he did not act irresponsibly nor jeopardise his recovery and in fact made a full recovery from his injury in record time. We apologise to him for the embarrassment and offence caused and have agreed to pay him substantial damages and his legal costs. Link

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Apology

November 11, 2009 – 8:00 am

expressOur article of October 17 headed “Priest brands resort ‘most godless in UK’ incorrectly attributed the quote to Rev. Archie Coates vicar of St. Peter’s, Brighton. In fact he said that it had been dubbed that by others. The report that he had been reprimanded for the comment was therefore unfounded. We apologise to Rev. Coates for any embarrassment our article may have caused him.

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Apology

November 9, 2009 – 8:00 am

theageIn July and August 2008, The Age published articles about fine art auctioneer Mr Rodney Menzies and his auction company Menzies Art Brands. The Age did not intend to suggest that Mr Menzies was other than a reputable and ethical auctioneer who abided by the rules. The Age apologises to Mr Menzies for any hurt caused.

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Apology

November 5, 2009 – 8:00 am

dailystarIn the Daily Star of 27 October 2008, we published an article and photographs of Olga Kurylenko which stated that Ms Kurylenko had arranged a nude photoshoot immediately after the filming of Quantum Of Solace. We now accept that Ms Kurylenko did not arrange any such photoshoot after Quantum Of Solace and that this was incorrect.
We wish to set the record straight and apologise to Ms Kurylenko.

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Apology

November 2, 2009 – 8:00 am

sundaymailukAN ARTICLE in the Sunday Mail, on April 27, 2007, headlined “Co-op uses human ashes to grit path”, said staff at a Dunfermline funeral home had used ashes to grit a disabled ramp.
Despite printing the article in good faith , we now acknowledge and fully accept that this was not the case.
We apologise to the Co-operative Funeral Care and Bob Aitchison, the manager in Dunfermline, and unreservedly withdraw the allegations. Link

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How dare you suggest those boys weren’t drunk

October 30, 2009 – 8:00 am

independentIn the item “Jasper started it, honest” (18 October) about the Daily Telegraph’s recent feature on Tunbridge Wells it was wrongly suggested that Jasper Gerard had asked two boys of seventeen to pose for a fake picture showing them drunk, and that the paper had published it without their permission.

We are happy to make it clear that Mr Gerard did not commission the photograph nor was he present when it was taken and we apologise to Mr Gerard. The Telegraph also tells us the professional photographer who did take the picture insists that it was both authorised and genuine. Link

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Sorry for calling you an “evil terrorist”

October 26, 2009 – 8:00 am

sun_uk3On 29 March and 1 April last year we reported that Mr Patel was an evil terrorist who had been jailed for his part in a transatlantic jet terror plot. While he had been convicted under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act of possessing material that might be useful to terrorists, the court accepted that he unwittingly held documents for a friend of his father. Mr Patel has never had any involvement with terrorism acts. We are happy to set the record straight and apologise to him. Link

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Apology

October 26, 2009 – 8:00 am

westaustralianIn our report, Marlborough fined for lying to crime watchdog (page 1, October 23), we incorrectly stated that public servant Paul Frewer was found not guilty of giving false evidence to a Corruption and Crime Commission inquiry into the Smiths Beach development proposal.
Mr Frewer was never charged. The West Australian apologises for the error.

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Apology

October 21, 2009 – 8:00 am

couriermailAN article in The Courier-Mail of September 19, 2009, reported on a failed appeal to the Court of Appeal by the Queensland Nursing Council to reinstate the suspension of the registration of nurse, Juanita Graham.
Ms Graham’s registration was suspended by the Queensland Nursing Tribunal last year, but this was overturned by the District Court in February.
The article claimed Ms Graham was alleged to have negligently contributed to the death of a prisoner. We acknowledge Ms Graham was never accused, nor found guilty, of any such thing. We regret the error and apologise to Ms Graham.

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Apology

October 19, 2009 – 8:00 am

sundaypeopleON October 7, 2007 we reported that Ms McGuinness had charged the Find Madeleine Fund pounds 20,000 in excess of her agreed fee, which had come as a surprise to the Fund’s managers, and that following a discussion with Gerry McCann, she was forced to part company with the Fund.
We accept that Ms McGuinness did not overcharge the Fund, that she left as planned in September to meet pre-arranged commitments, and she was not forced to resign at all.
We regret any suggestion to the contrary and apologise to her for any distress and embarrassment caused. Link

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Apology

October 16, 2009 – 8:00 am

irishindependentIN the edition of the Irish Independent of Saturday, October 10, under the headline: ‘Coughlan: I was powerless to stop board giving car to Molloy’, Tanaiste Mary Coughlan is quoted as saying that a FAS board member, Mr Niall Saul, had told her that the issue of former director general Rody Molloy’s car was going to be discussed at a meeting of the board. It has been brought to our attention that the Tanaiste did not say this. What she said was that she had heard Mr Saul discussing the matter in a recent radio interview.
We fully accept that Mr Saul had no involvement whatsoever in the negotiation of Mr Molloy’s package, or discussions of any sort with the Tanaiste or any of her officials on that topic at any point. We note that Mr Saul was not present at the FAS Board meeting at which Mr Molloy’s package was discussed. We further recognise that in the radio interview, Mr Saul was merely offering an opinion on the issue of such severance packages in general, based on his professional experience in dealing with such matters. We regret the error and apologise to Mr Saul for any embarrassment caused. Link

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Apology

October 13, 2009 – 8:00 am

EDDIE McGRADY MPIn our edition dated June 7, 2009 we published an article under the headline “I Wanna Live Like Commons People” regarding expense claims by Eddie McGrady MP.
We acknowledge that our article was unfair to Mr McGrady and that his expenses were in fact entirely justifiable.
Mr McGrady also pointed out, and we accept, that in his case the hotel provided better value for taxpayers than a claim for a second home in London.
Mr McGrady also remains fully committed to openness and transparency in relation to MPs expenses and supports the planned system overhaul.
We unreservedly apologise to Mr McGrady and very much regret any distress and embarrassment caused to him by publishing these allegations.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Also tagged | Comments

Sorry for calling you a drunk

October 13, 2009 – 8:00 am

mirroruk2In yesterday’s edition of the paper in the Pat Flanagan column under the heading ‘Just Put A Cork In It’ we falsely identified Mary Black as being a self-confessed alcoholic.
We accept that this allegation is absolutely untrue and has no basis or foundation in fact.
We unreservedly withdraw this allegation and apologise to Mary Black for the personal distress caused to her by this publication.

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Apology

October 13, 2009 – 8:00 am

waikatoA story in yesterday’s Waikato Times reported businessman John Spencer was selling an $80 million luxury yacht. This John Spencer is listed as a New Zealand “rich-lister” and his Whangarei company Flyghtship Construction built the yacht. However, the story included a photograph of a different John Spencer, the chairman of Tainui Group Holdings. The Times apologises for its error and is investigating how the mix-up happened. Meanwhile, a piece in yesterday’s paper promoting this week’s edition of Your Weekend, the glossy magazine that comes with today’s newspaper, carried the cover of last week’s edition. We apologise to readers for any confusion.

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Respect for the dead

October 13, 2009 – 8:00 am

plymouthheraldWe would like to point out that Furn Scoles, who died in 2005 from a fractured skull, did not take heroin, as we stated in our story on Paul Ellis, who was convicted of his manslaughter four years ago (The Herald, October 8).
The Herald offers its sincere apologies to the Scoles family for this error and for any distress it has caused.

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Apology

October 7, 2009 – 8:00 am

guardianSteve Bunce: In Bunce takes the biscuit (1 October, page 12, Sport) we wrongly suggested that Steve Bunce, the boxing commentator, controlled the website bringbackbunce.net and had claimed on the site to have high-profile supporters, including Bertie Ahern and David Blunkett. We accept that Mr Bunce could not have made any such claims, as he did not set up and does not control this website. We apologise to Mr Bunce for the error. Link

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Apology

October 6, 2009 – 8:00 am

torontosunA headline on an article in the September 29 edition of the Toronto Sun concerning contract work done by Courtyard Group for the Ontario provincial government was both inaccurate and unfair. In fact, the Toronto Sun has no knowledge, or any reason to believe, that Courtyard acted improperly in any way in agreeing to perform, and in performing, work for the Ontario government or its agencies. The Sun apologizes for any injury or inconvenience. Link

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Apology

September 28, 2009 – 8:00 am

dailyteleukIn her review of Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton (Nov 1, 2008) Lynn Barber took issue with Dr Thornton’s assertion that she (Ms Barber) was among the 250 people who had been interviewed for the book, either face to face or by telephone. In fact, Ms Barber did have a pre-arranged telephone interview with Dr Thornton two years earlier which lasted over 30 minutes. We and Ms Barber therefore now accept that it would be wrong to suggest that Dr Thornton made a false or dishonest claim to have interviewed Ms Barber and apologise to Dr Thornton for any distress caused by any contrary impression the review may have given.
In addition, the review commented on Dr Thornton’s use of a practice known as “reflexive ethnography” which Ms Barber equated to “copy approval”. Dr Thornton points out that she did not give interviewees the right to alter any material she had written about them and that she always maintained complete editorial control of the final product and used the feedback provided by her subjects entirely as she saw fit. Link

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Apology

September 22, 2009 – 8:00 am

sun_uk3IN a report on May 5, 2009, headlined “Riddle of Boruc, the brunette and his hair straighteners”, we claimed that Artur Boruc had brought two girls to the house he shares with partner Sara Mannei and had sex with one of them. We published a picture which we said showed him straightening one of the girls’ hair. We now accept the picture was in fact of Mr Boruc and his younger sister Paulina in Poland some years earlier, and that neither did Mr Boruc invite back nor have sex with either of the girls in our story. We apologise to Mr Boruc and Ms Mannei for any embarrassment caused.

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Apology over Al Qaeda remark

September 18, 2009 – 2:43 pm

A columnist with The Punch, a Rupert Murdoch-owned website in Australia has apologized for what he calls “a stupid and offensive joke.” The apology:

A few weeks ago I made a stupid and offensive joke in a piece written in the immediate aftermath of the drawn opening Ashes Test.

It involved the alleged time-wasting tactics of the English side in the dying moments of the game, and referred to a private SMS exchange with a friend of mine which joked about the appearance of 12th man Bilal Shafayat.

While I wrote in the piece that the text message was clearly offensive – and had construed the piece as a self-deprecating look at the stupid behaviour of sports fans – the decision to publish this private SMS was of itself the truly stupid aspect of the article. This is because it was not only insulting and demeaning to a decent man and sporting professional in Bilal Shafayat, but anyone else who faces ridicule on the basis of their appearance.

I was going to apologise at the time and shut the piece but I didn’t, for two reasons. The first was that I didn’t want to be accused of trying to whip the issue up to drive traffic to the website. And given that life doesn’t come with a reverse button I thought that shutting the piece was a convenient out and that I should just wear it, as shown by our publication of many comments critical of the piece.

We have had a request from Bilal Shafayat through his lawyers for us to delete the piece from the website and we have now done that.

I’ve also written to him personally and use this post to say publicly that I wish that life did come with a reverse button and that I’d never published this stupid joke. We’re not going to invite comment on this post because I don’t want it to be a traffic-driving exercise, nor to open up a debate about whether the apology is warranted or not. I think it’s totally warranted and it’s offered sincerely and without reservation to Mr Shafayat and anyone else who found the piece distressing.

And here’s the “joke” (full column is available online here):

The question “Did the Poms cheat?” was perhaps put most succintly by mate Steve, watching the game online in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who inquired via text message in the final few overs this morning: “WHY IS THERE A MEMBER OF AL QAEDA HOLDING A F***ING GLOVE AND A FAT POM IN A TRACKSUIT OUT IN THE MIDDLE?” It’s a fair if offensively-crafted question, and one which is now on every Australian mind, none more so than Ricky Ponting.

Thanks, Steve!

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Apology

September 17, 2009 – 8:00 am

dailypostIN yesterday’s Daily Post we published an article headlined ‘Drink drive rap for road safety mum’.
David’s mum Edwina Wares The article was a report of a court case in which Edwina Wares, 51, of Melyd Avenue, Prestatyn (pictured above) had admitted driving with excess alcohol, almost a year since her son David Wares, 22, was killed in a high speed collision.
We would like to point out that the photograph accompanying the report and captioned with Edwina Wares’ name was published in error.
In fact, the photograph was of Stephanie Brown, Road Safety Officer for Denbighshire council (pictured right), who is not connected in any way with Mrs Wares’ drink drive prosecution.
Stephanie Brown, road safety officer We apologise unreservedly for the error, and for any distress caused to Ms Brown.

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