Monday 22 August 2011

Dale sorry over 'wimp' jibe at BBC Tripoli reporter


Blogger Iain Dale has apologised after accusing a BBC reporter at the Media Hotel in Tripoli of being a "wimp".

Dale tweeted last night:
Who is this wimp of a reporter on the BBC wearing a flak jacket in the hotel! Bet he's been told he can't go out cos of Elf 'n Safety.

He says: "And then the wrath of twitter descended on me. I might as well have said I agreed with slaughtering the first born. But it wasn’t just the usual suspects who were having a right old go – it was journalists I respect.

"You can do one of two things in these circumstances. Stick to your guns or issue a rapid apology. I have been in this situation before on my old blog, and I have always taken the view that if you’re in a hole, stop digging. And if you think you’ve gone over the top or just been plain wrong, say so. Acknowledge it. Apologise and put it behind you.

"The latter is easier said than done in this case, I suspect, but I withdrew the tweet (although I didn’t delete it, as I would have been accused of hiding) and then issued a total apology and took up a twitter follower’s suggestion and made a donation to the Rory Peck Trust.

"I got it very wrong. In short, I fucked up. I didn’t know the circumstances of the Media Hotel and the danger the reporters there were in. I reacted too quickly, and didn’t apply my normal twitter rules."

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