THE chief executive of supermarket chain Iceland has apologised for remarks he made about "the Irish" in a BBC programme about the horsemeat scandal.
Malcolm Walker said he was deeply sorry if he caused offence following remarks that he made on Panorama last night.
Walker had made the suggestion that Ireland’s Food Safety Authority of Ireland had carried out testing for horsemeat at unaccredited labs.
A spokesman for Iceland said: "Iceland and our chief executive, are deeply sorry. His comments were not intended to be disrespectful to the Irish people, including our many Irish customers, colleagues and suppliers, or to the Irish food safety authorities.
"We hold all of these in the very highest regard."
The Iceland chief executive had been asked on the TV programme to explain why burgers sold in Iceland stores had passed British tests for horse DNA but failed the Irish tests.
He replied: "Well, that's the Irish, isn't it?"
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland have vigorously rejected Walkers comments.
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