A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has said an apology by The Sun newspaper over a column in which Jeremy Clarkson said he "hated" Meghan Markle is "nothing more than a PR stunt".
Yesterday, the newspaper issued a statement saying it regrets the publication of Mr Clarkson's column, where he wrote that he had dreamed of Ms Markle being paraded through British towns and publicly shamed, and that it was "sincerely sorry".
A statement from a spokesperson for the couple shared with the PA news agency said: "The fact that the Sun has not contacted The Duchess of Sussex to apologise shows their intent.
"This is nothing more than a PR stunt. While the public absolutely deserves the publication's regrets for their dangerous comments, we wouldn't be in this situation if The Sun did not continue to profit off of and exploit hate, violence and misogyny.
"A true apology would be a shift in their coverage and ethical standards for all. Unfortunately, we're not holding our breath."
The article had attracted criticism from high-profile figures, politicians, and Mr Clarkson's own daughter, Emily Clarkson.
Writing on Twitter, Mr Clarkson said he was "horrified to have caused so much hurt" following the backlash and that he would "be more careful in future".
At his request, the column was removed from The Sun's website on Monday, but had received more than 17,500 complaints as of 9am on Tuesday, rising to 20,800 by 5pm on the same day.
In its apology, The Sun newspaper said: "In last Saturday's Sun, Jeremy Clarkson wrote a comment article about the Duchess of Sussex. It provoked a strong response and led to a large number of complaints to Ipso, the independent press regulator.
"In a tweet earlier this week, Jeremy said he had made a 'clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones', which had 'gone down badly with a great many people' and he was 'horrified to have caused so much hurt'. He also said he will be more careful in future.
"Columnists' opinions are their own, but as a publisher we realise that with free expression comes responsibility. We at The Sun regret the publication of this article and we are sincerely sorry."
The newspaper added that the article had also been removed from their archives.
The statement continued: "The Sun has a proud history of campaigning, from Help for Heroes to Jabs Army, Who Cares Wins and over 50 years of working in partnership with charities, our campaigns have helped change Britain for the better.
"Working with our readers, The Sun has helped to bring about new legislation on domestic abuse, provided beds in refuges, closed harmful loopholes in the law and empowered survivors of abuse to come forward and seek help. We will continue to campaign for good causes on behalf of our readers in 2023."
