The editor of the British Daily Mirror newspaper has been sacked after admitting its alleged Iraqi abuse pictures had been "a hoax".
Piers Morgan's decision came as the newspaper "apologized unreservedly" for printing the pictures.
The editor had earlier brushed away growing pressure on him to quit.
A statement from the paper said: "The Daily Mirror published in good faith photographs which it absolutely believed were genuine images of British soldiers abusing an Iraqi prisoner.
"However there is now sufficient evidence to suggest that these pictures are fakes and that the Daily Mirror has been the subject of a calculated and malicious hoax."
The Mirror had published pictures which it said showed members of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment abusing Iraqi detainees.
The statement added: "The Daily Mirror apologizes unreservedly for publishing the pictures and deeply regrets the reputational damage done to the QLR and the Army in Iraq." (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
