Sorry for Tupac claim

The Los Angeles Times has apologized for claiming rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was involved in a 1994 shooting of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur.

The apology follows a claim that the newspaper was conned by a prisoner who doctored the documents used. "The bottom line is that the documents we relied on should not have been used," said editor Russ Stanton. Combs has already called the report "completely untrue" and "a lie". Writer Chuck Philips said he "got duped". Two years after the attack in New York, Shakur died in a separate shooting incident in Las Vegas.

The LA Times, which published the original story on its website, initially said its claims were based on FBI records, witness accounts and other unnamed sources. Mr. Stanton launched an investigation following claims published earlier this week on The Smoking Gun website.

"We apologies to both our readers and to those referenced in the documents and in the story," he said. The Smoking Gun claimed the documents used were fabricated by a prison inmate with a history of exaggerating his place on the rap music scene.

The newspaper said its story, published on 17 March, was based on FBI records, interviews with people at the scene of the shooting, and statements to the FBI by an informant. None of the sources were named. Mr. Philips, who wrote the story, said a former FBI agent examined the documents in question on his behalf and said they appeared to be legitimate.

But he said he now wished he had done more to investigate their authenticity. And if he did would he find anybody’s involvement? This is very tricky answer and still leaves suspicions in the air!