The Daily Star has apologised over a false story it published on Wednesday about the creation of a videogame titled "Grand Theft Auto Rothbury".

The Star's article claimed that Rockstar Games, creator of the popular "Grand Theft Auto" series, was releasing a version of the game based on the incidents involving killer Raoul Moat. It also criticised Rockstar for their alleged plans.

The apology stated that the publication of the article was due to the paper's own journalistic failings, and that the paper failed to check the accuracy of the piece and contact Rockstar Games before publishing the story.

The paper said it is convinced that Rockstar did not intend to publish such a game. It stated that it unreservedly apologises to the company and undertook not to repeat the claims.

The paper also agreed to pay a substantial amount in damages to the games company.