Disgraced ex-CIA chief starts road to redemption

Former CIA director David Petraeus has made his first public speech and apology since resigning in November over an extramarital affair.

The former four-star general apologised last night at a University of Southern California event honouring the military.

Such a show of contrition is part of a pattern in the US, the first stage in a process that almost always allows high-profile figures to return to public life.