An Apology to Mr Hague
In an article published on 20 December 2022 under the headline “Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Bolsover resigns after revelations of his involvement in the ‘miners scandal’”, we incorrectly repeated false allegations about Jerry Hague, a prospective Labour Party candidate, based on an article published in The Times on 19 December 2022. We accept that The Times has published an apology to Mr Hague in respect of the false allegations in that article, have agreed to pay him substantial damages and costs, and have removed the article. We further accept that our article of 20 December 2022 made false allegations about Mr Hague when standing as the prospective Labour Party candidate for Sherwood in 2019, regarding a Labour Party proposal for medical examination facilities for former miners in Nottinghamshire. We accept that these allegations were entirely false and there was no basis for them. We apologise to Mr Hague for these errors and the distress caused. We have removed our article of 20 December 2022 and undertaken not to republish the allegations complained of or words to similar effect. I am grateful to Mr Hague for dealing with this amicably rather than pursuing a legal claim against me which would have been his entitlement.
– Paul Knaggs
