The Times newspaper has apologised for the article in issue dated May 21, 2011, which carried an interview with Ratan Tata.

Following the May 21 publication, Tata Sons had written to the editor of The Times, UK, seeking an apology for the article headlined “Steel chief condemns UK’s ‘lazy’ managers”.

And in its issue dated June 1, 2011, the newspaper carried an apology, after which Tata Sons issued a statement, saying: “We are happy.”

Following is the text of the apology:

Mr Ratan Tata

In an article on May 21 we wrote that Mr Tata criticised British managers under the headline ‘Steel chief condemns UK’s ‘lazy’ managers’. We are happy to clarify that Mr Tata did not use the word ‘lazy’. His comments related to his view of the environment which existed when the Tata Group bought JLR and Corus and UK managers generally and were not about his current management and staff. We apologise to Mr Tata and his staff for any distress caused.