THE Sun has apologised for a column by ex-Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson in which he said he "hated" Meghan Markle.
Clarkson generated controversy when he said he wanted to see the actress, who is married to Prince Harry, forced to parade through the streets of the UK while people threw "excrement" at her and shouted "shame".
He later said it was a reference to an episode of Game of Thrones.
The story became the press regulator's most complained-about article of all time, racking up more than 20,800 complaints.
In a clarification on the paper's website published on Friday evening, The Sun said: "In last Saturday’s Sun, Jeremy Clarkson wrote a comment article about the Duchess of Sussex.
READ MORE: Floating Miller and Carter steakhouse sinks into lake at shopping centre
"It provoked a strong response and led to a large number of complaints to IPSO, the independent press regulator.
"In a tweet earlier this week, Jeremy said he had made a 'clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones', which had 'gone down badly with a great many people' and he was 'horrified to have caused so much hurt'. He also said he will be more careful in future.
"Columnists’ opinions are their own, but as a publisher, we realise that with free expression comes responsibility.
"We at The Sun regret the publication of this article and we are sincerely sorry.
"The article has been removed from our website and archives.
"The Sun has a proud history of campaigning, from Help for Heroes to Jabs Army and Who Cares Wins, and over 50 years of working in partnership with charities, our campaigns have helped change Britain for the better.
READ MORE: Ex-Labour chief slams SNP MSP for tweet about Celtic during gender debate
"Working with our readers, The Sun has helped to bring about new legislation on domestic abuse, provided beds in refuges, closed harmful loopholes in the law and empowered survivors of abuse to come forward and seek help.
"We will continue to campaign for good causes on behalf of our readers in 2023."
The story was condemned by domestic violence charities and Clarkson's own daughter.
It also referenced Nicola Sturgeon, with Clarkson writing that he "hated" the First Minister as much as he did the serial killer Rose West.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel