O'Leary apologises 'unreservedly' over 'rapist' comments

The Chief Executive of Ryanair Michael O'Leary has apologised "sincerely and unreservedly" for using the term "high-fare rapists" in reference to the airline's competitors.

Mr O'Leary had been accused of "trivialising" rape after making the remarks ahead of his airline's annual general meeting in Dublin last week.

In a video posted on YouTube, Mr O'Leary said that, in conversation with "family and friends", he has come to realise that the word has caused considerable "upset and offence" to a wide number of people, "especially to victims and survivors".

"I want to apologise sincerely and unreservedly to those people, especially to the survivors," he said.

"I am truly sorry for the offence and the upset I have caused you by my careless use of those words. It won't happen again."

Mr O’Leary had initially refused to apologise, saying it was "absolutely" appropriate to compare other airlines to rapists.

The comments for which has apologised were given to reporters at the company's headquarters: "You might find some people will choose not to fly with Ryanair - but you know they'll be overrun with the people abandoning Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, BA and others desperate to get to Ryanair's low fares because they can't afford to fly with the high-fare rapists around Europe."

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) had called on Mr O'Leary to apologise, saying his words would contribute to trivialising sexual violence.

In a letter to Mr O'Leary, DRCC CEO Rachel Morrogh urged him to issue a "swift apology to survivors of rape and sexual violence", saying that an apology would be a form of healing for those hurt by his comments.

Mr O'Leary initially replied to Ms Morrogh saying that "Since I clearly did not trivialise the heinous crime of rape, I will certainly not be issuing an apology or accepting your offer of training."

However, he has now apologised for his use of the term.