LONDON: British tabloid The Sun on Friday said it regretted publishing a column by former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson about Prince Harry’s wife Meghan after a huge backlash.
In the article for The Sun last week, Clarkson wrote that he “hated” Meghan and dreamed of the day “when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her.”
A record number of complaints against the column — more than 20,000 — was made to the UK Independent Press Standards Organization (Ipso) and many high-profile figures criticized the piece, including author Philip Pullman and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
The article had been written in response to the couple’s recent Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan” but has since been removed from the newspaper’s website.
“We at The Sun regret the publication of this article and we are sincerely sorry,” The Sun said in a statement on its website.
It added the article would also be removed from its archives.
The Sun had already removed the article on Monday from its website at the request of Clarkson who said on Twitter he made “a clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones and this has gone down badly with a great many people.”
He added: “I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future.”
In one of the most famous scenes in Game of Thrones, a female character makes a “walk of shame” where she is forced to walk down the streets naked as people throw rubbish at her.
“Columnists’ opinions are their own, but as a publisher, we realize that with free expression comes responsibility,” The Sun said.
In the Netflix documentary, Harry and Meghan accuse the voracious UK tabloid press of racism, of trying to “destroy” her and of contributing to her miscarriage through a targeted campaign fueled by palace briefings.
British tabloid The Sun ‘regrets’ publishing Meghan ‘hate’ article
https://arab.news/4nrty
British tabloid The Sun ‘regrets’ publishing Meghan ‘hate’ article
- In the article for The Sun last week, Clarkson wrote that he "hated" Meghan
- A record number of complaints against the column -- more than 20,000 -- was made to the UK Independent Press Standards Organisation
Israeli court overturns conviction of officer who assaulted Palestinian journalist, citing ‘Oct. 7 PTSD’
- Judge sentenced Yitzhak Sofer to 300 hours of community service, saying officer “devoted his life to Israel’s security” and conviction was “disproportionate to severity of his actions”
- Footage shows Sofer throwing photojournalist Mustafa Alkharouf to the ground, and repeatedly beating and kicking him while he covered Palestinian gatherings near Al-Aqsa Mosque
LONDON: An Israeli court overturned the conviction of a border police officer who assaulted a Palestinian journalist, ruling his actions were influenced by post-traumatic stress disorder from serving during the Oct. 7 2023 attacks.
On Tuesday, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court sentenced officer Yitzhak Sofer to 300 hours of community service for assaulting Anadolu Agency photojournalist Mustafa Alkharouf in occupied East Jerusalem in December 2023.
Footage shows Sofer and other officers drawing weapons, throwing Alkharouf to the ground, and repeatedly beating and kicking him while he covered Palestinian gatherings near Al-Aqsa Mosque amid heavy restrictions.
Alkharouf was hospitalized with facial and body injuries. His cameraman, Faiz Abu Ramila, was also attacked.
Anadolu photojournalist Mustafa Alkharouf violently attacked by Israeli army in occupied East Jerusalem while covering Palestinian prayers near Al-Aqsa Mosque
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 15, 2023
Incident highlights ongoing restrictions on Friday prayers and press freedom in region https://t.co/exT6XqjEaA pic.twitter.com/pqugK9HnOt
Sofer had been convicted in September 2024 of assault causing bodily harm (acquitted of threats) and initially faced six months’ community service, as recommended by Mahash, the Justice Ministry’s police misconduct unit.
Judge Amir Shaked accepted the defense request to cancel the conviction, replacing it with community service.
He cited Sofer’s PTSD from responding to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack, noting the officer had “no prior criminal record” and had “devoted his life to Israel’s security.”
“The court cannot ignore this when considering whether the defendant’s conviction should stand,” he said, adding that while the incident is “serious and does cross the criminal threshold,” the conviction in place could cause Sofer harm “disproportionate to the severity of his actions.”
The ruling comes amid surging attacks on journalists in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza since Israel’s war on Gaza began.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported Israel responsible for two-thirds of the 129 media workers killed worldwide in 2025, the deadliest year on record, citing a “persistent culture of impunity” and lack of transparent probes.
Reporters Without Borders called the Israeli army the “worst enemy of journalists” in its 2025 report, with nearly half of global reporter deaths in Gaza.
Foreign journalists face raids, arrests and intimidation. In late January 2026, Israel’s Supreme Court granted a delay on ruling a ban on foreign media access to Gaza.
