King resigns and apologises over controversy

IRISH EXAMINER columnist Steven King has resigned from the newspaper following his suspension over claims that he plagiarised content.

Mr King, a freelance writer and a former political adviser to UUP leader and former Northern first minister David Trimble, yesterday apologised to Irish Examiner editor Tim Vaughan, acknowledging that he had let the newspaper and its readers down.

The column was suspended by Mr Vaughan last Friday when claims surfaced that material published by Brendan O’Neill, editor of the British online magazine Spiked, had been plagiarised by Mr King.