First the BBC, then the Mirror. The war on Iraq was worth it for this alone
Posted on 05/14/2004 3:08:26 PM PDT by pau1f0rd
The Daily Mirror has issued a front page apology and sacked its editor after admitting its Iraq abuse photos are fake.
Piers Morgan's dismissal came as the paper "apologised unreservedly" for printing the pictures.
The editor, one of the best known faces in Fleet Street, had earlier brushed away growing pressure on him to quit.
But in a dramatic turn of events, the paper's board forced the 39-year-old to step down with immediate effect.
A statement from the paper said: "The Daily Mirror published in good faith photographs which it absolutely believed were genuine images of British soldiers abusing an Iraqi prisoner.
"However 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 Mirror had published pictures which it said showed members of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment abusing Iraqi detainees.
After a day of intense pressure and following Government assertions that the pictures were fake, the Mirror was forced into a humiliating climbdown.
The statement said: "The Daily Mirror apologises unreservedly for publishing the pictures and deeply regrets the reputational damage done to the QLR and the Army in Iraq."
In a robust defence, the regiment had earlier said the pictures were "utter and complete nonsense" and senior figures demanded the paper apologise.
Colonel David Black, a former commanding officer of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, accused the pictures of almost acting as "a recruiting poster for al Qaeda".
After the sacking he admitted to a "quiet satisfaction" at his departure and demanded a full, front page apology from the paper.
Downing Street said the matter was an issue for the Mirror's board and not No 10.
But military chiefs were said to be privately celebrating Mr Morgan's exit.
Nope, nope, that's a misprint: it SHOULD read "SORRY, WE WERE STUPID"...
Could we further your list with America's Yellow Rags: NY Slimes, Boston Globe and SF Chronicle
And the Boston Globe, who let their hate for Bush cloud their judgment and besmirch the name of the US and the Army that serves??????
Lest anyone forget, for a few days the Mirror said they were standing behind the pictures, even after they were exposed as fakes.
WOW What going on with Fleet Street they have same problems as NY Times and Beantown globe
That's not even a real damn gun, is it?
Let me help you Mirror boys out: E-D-I-T-I-N-G
A little too damn late, stupid Mirror... the damage has already been done... perhaps they should check for facts BEFORE they print such garbage.
I think it should say "SORRY, WE WANTED TO BELIEVE THEY WERE REAL"...
(Would they have been so eager to print evidence of WMDs? I think not.)
Absolutely. On Tuesday the Mirror wasn't even pretetending the pictures were genuine. It didn't matter.
"We remain absoltely confident that these pictures accurately illustrate a serious abuse of a detainee by members of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment" Piers Morgan
The B.B.C. is reporting that Piers Morgan was asked to issue an appology, he refused, and was then sacked and escorted from the building.
I do not like to see anybody's career lie in tatters on the ground, but I find it impossible to have any sympathy for this man who, for several years, I have regarded as similar to pond slime. The fact that his actions made the mission of Her Majesty's Forces in Iraq much more difficult merely adds to his shame.
Any trial lawyer knows that if you can get a lie in front of the jury..even if its objected to and sustained..the lie sits in their minds and will influence the decision later. They knew what they were doing and did it deliberately. The apology is mere Barbra Striesand!
Hoaxed my foot. I think the Mirror knew the photos weren't genuine when they printed them. If there was a ''hoax'', the perp was the Mirror (and that may be the real reason Morgan got sacked.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.