THE Scottish Daily Mail has apologised to Nicola Sturgeon after it reported she had drastically reduced the occasions on which a Union flag can be flown from public buildings.
The newspaper said it accepted the First Minister "had no involvement" in the decision, which was made in 2010 under Alex Salmond.
It comes after a furious row erupted over changes to published guidance recommending the Union flag should only be flown on Remembrance Day.
Last year's guidance stated the Union flag should be flown on several occasions including Royal birthdays and anniversaries.
READ MORE: Why we should flag up the dangers of the Saltire vs Union Jack row
The Mail said Ms Sturgeon had "decreed" the flag should not be flown to mark Royal occasions – with the Lion Rampant used instead.
But the Scottish Government said the guidance had simply been updated by officials to reflect actual practice, and the Union flag will be flown on the same number of days as previous years.
Former First Minister Alex Salmond revealed he changed the policy after a conversation with the Queen at Balmoral in 2010.
In a correction issued on page two of today's paper, the Mail said: "We are happy to clarify that the decision to change the policy on flag flying was taken and implemented by former First Minister Alex Salmond in 2010.
"The Protocol and Honours Team updated operational guidance in December 2017.
"We accept that the policy did not change under Nicola Sturgeon and that she had no involvement in the Protocol and Honours Team updating the operational guidance on flag flying for 2018.
"We apologise to Ms Sturgeon for the contrary impression given."
READ MORE: Scottish Government demands apology over Union flag row
The Scottish Government has also demanded apologies from the Daily Telegraph and Daily Express over their coverage of the story.
It threatened to take the case to the Independent Press Standards Organisation, the industry regulator, if the issue is not resolved.
Political journalist and commentator Iain Dale apologised for repeating the claims on social media, adding: “Obviously as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has to take responsibility for what happens in her government’s name, even if the actual decision was not hers.
“But I have this morning been in touch with her directly and apologised for tweeting that it was her decision. It is clear now that it was not.”
Nicola Sturgeon said the Mail "has admitted that its ridiculous story about me and flags was utterly false and issued a full apology".
Writing on Twitter, she added: "Rigorous scrutiny of politicians by a free media is fundamental to our democracy.
"But when newspapers publish blatant untruths they do a disservice, not just to those they defame, but to the integrity of their trade.
"That’s why it’s important to challenge falsehoods."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel