Matthew Wright Apologises For Teenager Murder Taggart Comments

TV Presenter: I'm Sorry For Belittling Teenager's Murder

Television presenter Matthew Wright has apologised for comments he made about the murder of a teenager on a remote Scottish island - the first in the area for 43 years.

Mr Wright made the comments about the death of 16-year-old Liam Aitchison in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis.

During a newspaper review segment on The Wright Stuff programme, the presenter put on a Scottish accent and said "there's been another murder", copying a phrase from TV detective show Taggart.

Panel member Charlie Baker described the investigation as "the longest-ever episode of Taggart".

On the Channel 5 show, Mr Wright said it had not been his intention to "belittle" the teenager's death.

He said: "I know that some of you have been upset by some comments made during yesterday's newspaper review about the murder of Liam Aitchison in Stornoway and I would like to apologise if that was the case.

"Certainly, no intention on my part to belittle the seriousness or the tragedy of this story, or to offend anyone who knew Liam. You know me, I have been touched by death too many times to belittle anything like that."

Angus MacNeil, SNP MP for the Western Isles, who said he had raised a complaint with Ofcom, along with many of his constituents, said: "To see Matthew Wright making jokes about the tragedy and behaving as he did is beyond belief, and has disgusted everyone who has seen the programme."

A group called Report The Wright Stuff To Ofcom has been set up on Facebook, with almost 1,000 people "liking" the page. But Mr Wright said on the programme that those campaigning for people to complain to TV watchdog Ofcom should "grow up".

The body of Mr Aitchison was discovered in a derelict building in the Steinish area of Stornoway last Tuesday. Northern Constabulary said they were treating the death as murder following a post-mortem examination.

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