NME Apologises To Morrissey

The New Musical Express has apologised to Morrissey over an article published in 2007.

The former singer with The Smiths complained that the piece suggested he was a racist. He sued the weekly music magazine, claiming that it had “deliberately twisted” his comments on immigration.

“We do not believe Morrissey is a racist,” said a joint statement from NME and publisher IPC.

Apparently that’s been enough to satisfy the singer, who intended to bring a libel action against the paper. It would have reached the High Court next month.

Morrissey won a pre-trial hearing against former NME editor Conor McNicholas and IPC in October, when the publisher tried to get the singer’s claim struck out because of the lengthy delay.

The original article was headed “Morrissey: Big Mouth Strikes Again,” and alleged that in an interview he had said: “Although I don’t have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.

“The gates of England are flooded. The country’s been thrown away.”

A statement published in the current issue of NME says the matter is now at an end and that the settlement did not involve payment of any damages or legal costs, other than those arising from October’s pre-trial hearing.

Morrissey reportedly welcomed the outcome and said he only wanted to clear his name.