Morrissey wins racism court apology

Word magazine has apologised to Morrissey in court for an article that suggested he might be a racist.

Morrissey received the apology at the Royal Courts of Justice this morning. The singer took legal action because the article echoed sentiments raised by NME magazine in December 2007.

That edition of the NME is the subject of ongoing libel proceedings brought by the indie star.

Word accepted that a feature written by journalist David Quantick in March 2008 "could have been construed to suggest that Mr Morrissey was a racist, held racist opinions or that [as the child of migrant parents] he was a hypocrite".

John Reid, Morrissey's solicitor added: "Defendants accept that Mr Morrissey is well known as a keen supporter of anti-racist groups and the Defendants wish to make absolutely clear that they never intended the article to suggest that Mr Morrissey was anything other than a sincere supporter of anti-racism initiatives."

Speaking afterwards, the former Smiths frontman said: "I am obviously delighted with this victory and the clearing of my name in public where it is loud and clear for all to hear.

"The NME have calculatedly tried to damage my integrity and to label me as a racist in order to boost their diminishing circulation.

"Word Magazine made the mistake of repeating those allegations, which they now accept are false and, as a result, have apologised in Open Court.

"I will now continue to pursue my legal action against the NME and its editor until they do the same."