Jeremy Clarkson and Meghan Markle.

Jeremy Clarkson and Meghan Markle.Credit:Getty Images

The remarks sparked a huge backlash. The Independent Press Standards Organisation received more than 20,800 complaints,while Clarkson’s own daughter Emily,as well several leading public figures,condemned his words.

In apiece published on its website on Thursday evening,London time,the paper said its columnists’ opinions were their own,but as a publisher,it realised that “with free expression comes responsibility”.

“We atThe Sun regret the publication of this article and we are sincerely sorry,” it said. “The article has been removed from our website and archives.”

Loading

The paper said it has a “proud history of campaigning” in Britain over 50 years of working in partnership with charities,and said its campaigns had “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,” it said.

More than 60 British members of Parliament from across the political divide had written toThe Sun’s editor Victoria Newton this week to demand an apology and “action taken” against Clarkson.

Advertisement

The Scottish National Party’s shadow culture minister also called for Clarkson to be banned from TV altogether.

In a tweet earlier this week Clarkson,who hostsWho Wants To Be A Millionaire? on UK television and is a prominent presenter on streaming site Amazon Prime,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.

ITV Studios managing director Kevin Lygo said on Wednesday the network has had no control over what Clarkson says or writes away from its programs.

“We hire him as a consummate broadcaster of the most famous quiz on television,Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?So it’s not quite in our wheelhouse,but I don’t know what he was thinking when he wrote that. It was awful.”

Asked if ITV would keep Clarkson as host of the quiz show,he said:“Yes,at the moment we are.”

Loading

Military charity Help for Heroes distanced itself from Clarkson,a former patron,amid the ongoing row.

The charity said it wrote to Clarkson,who was a founding patron of Help for Heroes in 2007,on Wednesday and ruled out working with him again in the future because of the controversy.

Meghan,who along with husband Prince Harry,quit the royal family two years ago,claimed in their recent Netflix docuseries that she had been subjected to racism and misogyny from the British press.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked about the column during a visit to Latvia this week,saying “for everyone in public life,language matters”.

“I absolutely don’t believe that Britain is a racist country. And I’d hope that as our nation’s first British Asian Prime Minister when I say that it carries some weight,” he said.

Get a note direct from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world.Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.

Most Viewed in World

Loading