Around the World: United Kingdom

PM apologizes for letter

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has telephoned the mother of a serviceman killed in Afghanistan to say he "meant no offense" by misspelling Jamie Janes' name in a letter of condolence. Downing Street was earlier forced to defend the way Brown writes to bereaved families of fallen troops after she described his hand-written letter as a "hastily scrawled insult". Jacqui Janes had urged him never to send such a letter to a soldier's family again and accused Brown of not caring enough about Britain's armed forces.