The editor of the British tabloid Daily Mirror was sacked on Friday after being caught up in a scandal involving fake pictures that purportedly showed British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners, the newspaper said.
”There is now sufficient evidence to suggest that these pictures are fakes and that the Daily Mirror has been the subject of a calculated and malicious hoax,” the paper said in a statement.
”The Daily Mirror therefore apologises unreservedly for publishing the pictures and deeply regrets the reputational damage done to the QLR [Queen’s Lancashire Regiment] and the army in Iraq”, the media group Trinity Mirror said.
”The board of Trinity Mirror has decided that it would be inappropriate for Piers Morgan to continue in his role as editor of the Daily Mirror and he will therefore be stepping down with immediate effect,” Trinity Mirror added.
The British government had already concluded on Thursday that the pictures, published in the Daily Mirror two weeks ago, were ”categorically not taken in Iraq”.
The media group said it ”published in good faith photographs which it absolutely believed were genuine images of British soldiers abusing an Iraqi prisoner” and would now ”continue to cooperate fully with the investigation”.
Deputy editor Des Kelly will assume the role of acting editor. — Sapa-AFP