A NATIONAL newspaper has apologised to Huddersfield’s MP over an article about a trip to Thailand.
Barry Sheerman said yesterday he was pleased the Daily Telegraph had said sorry for the “nasty and wicked story”.
However, a second complaint by the Labour MP against the Sunday Telegraph is still being investigated by the newspaper watchdog the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).
On February 10 the Sunday Telegraph claimed Mr Sheerman had used taxpayers’ money to help fund a holiday in Thailand for him and his wife Pamela.
Mr Sheerman stayed on for the 10-day break after taking part in a conference on education in Bangkok.
The British Council, a taxpayer-funded organisation set up to promote the UK abroad, paid for his three-night stay in a £146-a-night hotel during the conference and his £2,887 first class flight home.
But the MP insisted the costs of the trip which were not connected to his official business – including his wife’s plane ticket – had been paid by him rather than the taxpayer.
Four days later, the Sunday Telegraph’s sister paper mentioned the story in a piece about fact-finding trips by MPs.
This week the Daily Telegraph published an apology over the article it had carried.
It added: “We apologise for any misunderstanding.”
Mr Sheerman welcomed the move.
He said: “I’m glad that the Daily Telegraph has fully apologised. I think it was a nasty, wicked and outrageous story.
“I usually have a thick skin about these things but the way they treated my wife was very upsetting.”
A PCC spokeswoman said yesterday that Mr Sheerman’s complaint against the Sunday Telegraph was still being investigated.
