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Daily Record
Daily Record
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Press Association & Sarah Vesty

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's team call Jeremy Clarkson column apology 'a PR stunt'

A spokeswoman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has said an apology by The Sun newspaper over a column in which Jeremy Clarkson said he "hated" Meghan is "nothing more than a PR stunt".

On Friday, the newspaper issued a statement saying it regrets the publication of Clarkson's column, where he wrote that he had dreamed of Meghan being paraded through British towns and publicly shamed, and that it was "sincerely sorry".

A statement from a spokesperson for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Saturday, said: "The fact that the Sun has not contacted The Duchess of Sussex to apologise shows their intent.

"This is nothing more than a PR stunt. While the public absolutely deserves the publication's regrets for their dangerous comments, we wouldn't be in this situation if The Sun did not continue to profit off of and exploit hate, violence and misogyny.

"A true apology would be a shift in their coverage and ethical standards for all. Unfortunately, we're not holding our breath."

Jeremy Clarkson has faced extreme backlash for his comments (PA)

The article - which has since been taken down - has become the most complained about in history with more than 20,000 complaints to the Independent Press Standards Organisation.

In a statement on Friday night, bosses at the newspaper said: "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'.

"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."

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