The News of the World has apologised to the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, after falsely claiming that he offered a £50,000 bribe to a paedophile priest.
The NoW published a story in January based on transcripts of an alleged conversation in a prison cell between a former priest convicted of child abuse and Bishop Howard Tripp, who was visiting him. The NoW claimed O’Connor offered £50,000 for the defrocked priest to “disappear”.
The Catholic Church has always claimed the transcript of the conversation was a hoax.
In a deal brokered via the Press Complaints Commission, the NoW published an apology that stated: “We know this story to be untrue, although it was based on what we believed at the time to be convincing evidence.”
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog