The Sun apologises for bad-taste Maddie joke

It’s always been quick to criticise comedians who make an ill-judged quip – but now The Sun has had to apologise for making its own bad-taste joke, about Madelaine McCann.

The paper faced a backlash after making a gag about the missing girl as it tweeted about Saturday night’s X Factor live show.

Editor David Dinsmore has now apologised to Madelaine’s parents Kate and Gerry.

On its official X Factor @TheSun_Showbiz feed, the newspaper said of contestant Tamera Foster: ‘Forget make up, the only way Tamera's gonna lose this is if she admits to stealing Maddie.’

It prompted an immediate storm of outrage, causing the newspaper to delete the message and issue an apology online.

After the X Factor had finished, the same account tweeted: ‘We would like to say sorry for a tweet that was sent out earlier. It was an inappropriate attempt to make a joke, and we got it wrong.’

Last week, The Sun had been heavily promoting a 12-page pullout The Maddie Files, which was included in Saturday’s edition.

The Sun previously employed Frankie Boyle as a columnist, who has not been shy of making jokes about Madeleine on stage.

Published: 21 Oct 2013