Sir Ken Macdonald, QC

Our article entitled ‘Shall we tell the Prime Minister? His gang has scattered like rats’ (10 March) was not intended to suggest that Sir Ken Macdonald, QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, had leaked information to officials at No. 10 or that he was pressurised by the Police to withdraw from making the decision about prosecutions in the cash-for-honours case for that reason. We accept that there would be no truth whatsoever in any such assertions. We further accept that Sir Ken has behaved properly and appropriately and we apologise to him for any embarrassment caused to him by our article.

• From magazine issue: 10 March 2007