Media reaction:The editor and publishers of the Sunday Independent have apologised to the family of Liam Lawlor for the newspaper's coverage of the circumstances of his death.
The editor, Aengus Fanning, yesterday apologised "unreservedly" for the "pain and distress" his paper's coverage had caused the Lawlor family.
The paper had suggested wrongly that a woman passenger travelling with Mr Lawlor when their car crashed on Saturday was a prostitute.
Mr Fanning said in his statement: "As editor of the Sunday Independent I take full responsibility for the story published in this week's Sunday Independent surrounding the tragic death of Mr Liam Lawlor. I also wish to apologise unreservedly for the pain and distress that this coverage has caused the Lawlor family.
"The Sunday Independent and I as editor enjoy full editorial control, as do all newspapers and editors within Independent News & Media group."
While taking "full responsibility" for the matter, Mr Fanning said the story was primarily based on information provided by a "highly regarded source" in Moscow, Guardian and Observer correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh.
"The story as published was primarily based on information provided by a highly regarded source in Moscow who works with both the Guardian and Observer newspapers and statements made by the Moscow city police information department.
"Hindsight has shown this information to be incorrect and I take full responsibility for proceeding with the story in the manner in which it was published."
Mr Fanning said he could make "no further comment on this matter whilst the internal investigation announced earlier today by group managing editor of Independent Newspapers (Ireland), Mr Michael Denieffe, is under way".
However, the Observer newspaper insisted its story reported "accurately and in good faith" comments made by the Moscow police.
"We have not received a complaint about the story or been made aware of any evidence which contradicts it. Naturally, if presented with new evidence we will investigate further," it said in a statement.
Earlier, Mr Denieffe promised a "full and frank investigation" into the publication of the Sunday Independent story and said procedures would be put in place to ensure "this never happens again".
Apologising "profusely" for the error, Mr Denieffe said he accepted that the story must have been extremely distressing for Mr Lawlor's family.
Mr Denieffe said Mr Paton Walsh's information indicated that the Moscow police were "working on a theory" that the woman passenger was a prostitute and the paper's editorial executives had satisfied themselves that the story was correct.
"In retrospect, it probably was not the right decision," Mr Denieffe told RTÉ.
Every effort was made to check the story with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish Embassy in Moscow but no further information was elicited, he said.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) welcomed the apology and called on media organisations to show sensitivity towards the Lawlor family. NUJ Irish secretary Séamus Dooley said the "irresponsible" coverage of the circumstances surrounding Mr Lawlor's death had caused great hurt to his family.
"The Sunday Independent's coverage of the death of Liam Lawlor was especially reprehensible and cannot be defended. It is also regrettable that other newspapers appear to have reproduced the unsubstantiated allegations regarding Mr Lawlor without checking the story."
Mr Dooley said the controversy underlined the need for a press council.
The editor of the Sunday Tribune, Noirín Hegarty, also apologised to the Lawlor family for her paper's coverage of the story.
She said the paper had "verified" the Sunday Independent story with a second source before printing the story in later editions.
Meanwhile, the National Newspapers of Ireland said last night in a statement that it had "long advocated the need for an independent system to which complaints about a newspaper article can be addressed.
"As such, NNI was instrumental in forming the Press Industry Steering Committee which has been working together to agree a model for an independent press complaints mechanism. The model agreed by the committee comprises an independent office of press ombudsman and press council who will consider breaches of an agreed code. The model document and code have already been submitted to the Minister for Justice.
"A formal announcement will be made in the coming weeks with a view to establishing such a body as soon as possible," it said.
The NNI statement was issued last night without any prior consultation or agreement with The Irish Times.
