Yesterday we and other newspapers apologised in court for the publication of false allegations about Mr Murat, Ms Walczuch and Mr Malinka in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

We had wrongly suggested in a number of articles that Mr Murat and Ms Walczuch were involved in the abduction of Madeleine McCann; that Mr Murat and Ms Walczuch had lied to the police and obstructed their investigation; that Mr Murat was a paedophile who used his computer to access depraved sexual material; that Mr Murat and Ms Walczuch might be part of a paedophile ring; and that Mr Malinka had convictions for sex offences and had lied about his acquaintance with Mr Murat.

We accepted in court that these allegations were untrue and that none of these individuals had any involvement in Madeleine's abduction. In recognition of the distress caused, we have agreed to pay substantial damages to each of the claimants plus their legal costs.