'Columnists' opinions are their own, but as a publisher, we realise that with free expression comes responsibility'
Almost a week after
Jeremy Clarkson prompted a torrent of outrage with a "hateful" column about
Megan Markle, the Sun newspaper has said it regrets publishing it and apologised.
In his column, Clarkson said he hates the Duchess of Sussex on a "cellular level" and dreams of the day "when he is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while crowds chant, 'Shame!' and throw lumps of excrement at her". The presenter added he dislikes Meghan more than serial killer Rose West.
The Column was the most complained about article ever, with 20,800 complaints to the Independent Press Standards Organisation as of 5pm on Tuesday. Even Clarkson's daughter, Emily, spoke out against him.
The newspaper said in a statement on Friday: "In last Saturday's Sun, Jeremy Clarkson wrote a comment article about the Duchess of Sussex.
"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'.
https://twitter.com/JeremyClarkson/status/1604826179999076352
"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.
"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 column, in which Clarkson said he "hated" Meghan, came on the back of the couple's highly publicised Netflix documentary series.
More than 60 MPs wrote to the editor of the newspaper condemning the piece "in the strongest terms" amid calls for ITV to axe him as the host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
https://twitter.com/MrJohnNicolson/status/1604891448171798530
The letter put forward by Conservative MP Caroline Nokes demanded that the publication take action against Clarkson.
It said the former Top Gear presenter's "hateful" article about Markle had contributed to an "unacceptable climate of hatred and violence".
A senior ITV executive said his comments were "awful" but Clarkson will continue as host of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? "at the moment".
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