IN
this column on March 4 last under the heading Dame Duck Ministers I
suggested that the political advancement within Sinn Fein of Ministers
Michelle Gildernew and Catriona Ruane was ill deserved and falsely
stated that they were both married to convicted IRA men, intimating
that their advancement was connected to this.
Neither James Taggart nor Brian McAteer was ever a member of the IRA and I apologise to each of them for stating otherwise.
I
also apologise to Michelle Gildernew and to Catriona Ruane for
suggesting that their political advancement was a result of such
membership, which I accept did not exist.
The Daily Mirror has agreed to pay damages and costs to both Ministers and their respective husbands.