My Lai apology.

In view of the controversy over al-Megrahi's conviction, and release on compassionate grounds this comes as a welcome surprise:

'Speaking in a soft, sometimes laboured voice, the only US army officer convicted for the 1968 slayings of civilians at My Lai in Vietnam made an extraordinary public apology while speaking to a small group near the military base in Georgia where he went on trial.

'William Calley has always refused requests for interviews. But he broke his long silence after accepting an old friend's invitation to speak at a local community club.

' "There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai," he told members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus. "I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry." '

The Independent reports today.