Daily Mail apologises to Shehbaz over funds misappropriation allegations

We accept Sharif has never been accused by NAB of any wrongdoing in relation to British public money, says newspaper.
The Daily Mail, a British newspaper, apologized to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday for a “mistake” in a news report that had been published on July 14, 2019, accusing him of stealing money from the British public.
The team imposed fine amounting to Rs 150,000 on them.The AC said that the crackdown would continue and strict action would be taken against smog SOPs violators.

According to reports, the article by investigative reporter David Rose has been taken off from the newspaper’s website and other platforms. According to the story, Shehbaz and his family stole millions of dollars while he was Punjab’s chief minister out of the £500 million in help provided by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) for earthquake victims in 2005.
The story titled “Did the family of Pakistani politician who has become the poster boy for British overseas aid STEAL funds meant for earthquake victims” was published on July 14, 2019.

“We accept Mr Sharif has never been accused by the National Accountability Bureau of any wrongdoing in relation to British public money or DFID grant aid,” the newspaper said in a statement published on its website.
“We are pleased to make this clear and apologise to Mr Sharif for this error,” it added. PM Shehbaz sued Daily Mail and Rose in 2020 for publishing a “fabricated and defamatory” story on him in the London High Court.

“The report that appeared in the Daily Mail was false and slanderous. It was a part of propaganda launched by Imran Niazi against the PML-N in the name of sham accountability,”

he said while addressing a news conference in London.