Hawzah News Agency (London - UK) - Thas apologize to Finsbury Park Mosque in London after falsely linking the masjid to a violent incident in May.

The mosque brought legal action against Hopkins after she tweeted footage of five men attacking Met police officers, implying wrongly that the perpetrators were members of the mosque’s community.

Although she deleted the tweet the mosque was told by Hopkins that she would be unable to pay damages if she lost in court, having already applied for insolvency in 2018 after losing a costly libel case to the food writer Jack Monroe.

The mosque then pressed for an apology. A period of negotiations resulted in Hopkins saying on Monday that she was “genuinely sorry for any hurt or offence felt by Finsbury Park mosque” for making “a clear factual error.”

This is her apology in full:

Dear Sirs,

Following our recent correspondence, I am happy to correct the inaccuracies contained in my Tweet of 8 May 2020. On that date I retweeted a video of a violent scene, of five men attacking the Metropolitan Police, with the comment:

“Finsbury Park mosque just after 8pm. Officers attacked. 5 representative of the Religion of Peace arrested. Zero media coverage.”  

Having now been informed of the factual inaccuracies of that tweet, I am perfectly happy to correct the record to reflect the fact that the incident was not occurring outside Finsbury Park Mosque but was two streets away in Blackstock Road.

I am genuinely sorry for any offence or hurt felt by Finsbury Park Mosque for this clear factual error and I am happy to put the record straight.

Furthermore, it could be inferred from my Tweet that the aggressors in this altercation with the Metropolitan Police were members of the Finsbury Park Mosque. I offer my sincere apologies to the Mosque for this incorrect inference and the offence or hurt felt by it.

In the course of my correspondence with the solicitors for Finsbury Park Mosque, it has been brought to my attention that the mosque has involved itself with the following charitable works especially during the Pandemic:

Distributed meals to NHS staff in local hospitals and provided thousands of pieces of PPE equipment to London hospitals;

Provided food parcels to the most vulnerable in the local community and have set up a helpline for counselling and bereavement support; and,

Initiated a campaign in the Finsbury Park area including Blackstock Road to educate the community about the importance of social distancing.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the contributions made by the mosque to society.