Editor apologises to Lawlor family over report

The editor of the

Sunday Independent

Aengus Fanning has apologised for publishing an inaccurate story about the death of Liam Lawlor in yesterday's edition.

In a statement issued a short time ago, Mr Fanning said he took full responsibility for the publication of the story which claimed that a woman passenger in the car in which Mr Lawlor died was "likely to be a prostitute".

Mr Fanning said he wished to apologise "unreservedly" for the pain and distress caused by the coverage to the Lawlor family.

He said he as editor of the Sunday Independentenjoyed full editorial control and the story as published was primarily based on information provided by a "highly-regarded source" in Moscow who worked with British newpapers the Guardianand the Observerand the Moscow city police information department.

He said: "Hindsight has shown this information to be incorrect and I take full responsibility for proceeding with the story in the manner in which it was published."

He said he could make no further comment on the matter while the internal investigation, announced by managing editor of Independent News and Media, Mr Michael Denieffe earlier today, was under way.

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Mr Denieffe  apologised "profusely" on behalf of the newspaper group to Liam Lawlor's family "on the manner of the coverage which must have been extremely distressing.

"Obviously the story is inaccurate and has caused enormous distress and we will have to look at our procedures and how we check stories and you can take it that we are definitely going to put procedures in place to ensure that this will never happen again," he said.

He added that the company would issue a formal statement later today and said it would "try as best we can" to apologise personally to the family.

Several Sunday newspapers claimed the fatal accident occurred in a red-light district and that Mr Lawlor had just met his fellow passenger.

It later emerged the passenger in the car was a 32-year-old mother of two who worked as an assistant to the partner in the legal firm that Mr Lawlor used in Prague and that Mr Lawlor's car was coming directly from the airport into the centre of the city when the accident happened.

Yesterday Mr Lawlor's son, Niall, said he "couldn't believe" press coverage of his father's death. Speaking on his arrival in Moscow last night, Niall Lawlor named Mr Lawlor's fellow passenger as Ms Kushnir.

"I passed the accident site. It didn't look like any red-light district. It is surrounded by malls," he said.

Earlier Mr Lawlor's family expressed regret and sadness at the "barrage of inaccurate, reckless and vindictive coverage" from "certain sections of media" on the circumstances of his death.

"At this time of mourning it is deeply shocking and distressing that such hurtful allegations should be made," it said in a statement. "The family ask that the media reflect on their coverage and allow them space to cope with their loss."

It is understood the Mercedes in which Mr Lawlor was travelling hit a concrete lamppost on the Leningrad Shosse, a main highway 23 kilometres from the city centre shortly after 1am.