TV presenter’s letter of apology to victim’s family

TV presenter Matthew Wright has written a letter of apology to the parents of a murdered teenager for comments he made about the death on his show.

By The Newsroom

Published 10th Dec 2011, 06:00 BST

During a newspaper review segment on The Wright Stuff programme on Tuesday, a panel discussed the death of 16-year-old Liam Aitchison in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, the first murder in the area for 43 years.

The presenter put on a Scottish accent and said “there’s been another murder”, copying a well-known phrase from TV detective show Taggart. Panel member Charlie Baker described the investigation as “the longest-ever episode of Taggart”.

A statement issued on behalf of Liam’s family on Wednesday said the comments on the Channel 5 morning show were “insulting” to the entire community.

Mr Wright apologised on-air during Wednesday’s programme and has now written to Liam’s family. Channel 5 said the details of the letter will be kept private but said it contained an apology from Mr Wright.