Thanks to lovely British libel laws, the National Enquirer has been forced to apologise to Britney Spears over reports it published in its UK edition that claimed she was about to divorce husband Kevin Federline.
Spears sued the magazine through the English courts, and as a result the magazine has published the following statement: "Contrary to what our articles might have suggested, we now accept that their marriage is not over and they are not getting divorced. These allegations are untrue and we now accept Britney's position that the statements are without foundation. We apologise for any distress caused."
Spears' people say that such a resolute apology from a magazine like the National Enquirer is pretty unprecedented, though some might argue they got off quite lightly - the magazine will not pay any damages or be forced to publish the retraction in its US edition.
Spears' UK lawyer Paul Tweed has told the BBC the he will now launch legal proceedings against a number of other newspapers and magazines that followed up the Enquirer's articles. Mmmm, I wonder how we reported on that one?