Daily Mail admits story about Lord Ashcroft predicting a Labour victory was wrong
The Mail has said sorry for reporting a prediction the Tory peer never made
The Daily Mail newspaper has admitted it ran an incorrect piece claiming pollster Lord Ashcroft ‘confidently’ told dinner guests Ed Miliband would be prime minister after the general election.
In a correction published today, the Mail says its diary piece on May 9 about Tory peer’s remarks at an election night dinner was completely wrong.
The Mail says that in fact, Lord Ashcroft made no predictions whatsoever, and simply discussed possible scenarios.
It adds the paper is sorry for this error.
Here is the correction in full: (click to enlarge)
“A diary item on May 9 said that Tory peer Lord Ashcroft had confidently told guests at a dinner on election night that Ed Miliband would enter Downing Street.
We are happy to clarify that, while Lord Ashcroft discussed potential outcomes, he made no predictions during the event.
We apologise for any misunderstanding.”
MediaWatch has been unable to find the original piece. Any readers who can track it down can email us at [email protected] or Tweet to @MediaWatchLFF
Adam Barnett is a staff writer at Left Foot Forward. Follow MediaWatch on Twitter
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