On 22 January 2010, we published an article on our website about Alan Donnelly under the headline "Positive movement at the FIA". This article suggested that Alan Donnelly had been forced to resign as Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party, after having been found guilty of irregularities in his expenses by The Sunday Times. It also suggested that he may have acted in a conflict of interest when carrying out his role as an official representative of the FIA president, through his dealings with the team Manor.

These allegations were entirely false. We accept that there were no irregularities in Alan Donnelly's expenses and that, as was reported at the time, he resigned as Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party because he could no longer face the persistent travel between Strasbourg and Brussels. Indeed, the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, stated at the time of his resignation that he had been "an outstanding member of Labour's team in Europe."

Furthermore, we accept that Mr Donnelly did not act in a conflict of interest when he was carrying out his role as an official representative of the FIA. We also accept that Mr Donnelly's dealings with the team Manor, were, at all times, completely consistent with the aims of the FIA.

We wish to apologise for the upset and embarrassment caused to Alan Donnelly by the publication of this article.

Chris Balfe
editor@pitpass.com
Editor