Beckett takes down post about Sun journalist

Francis Beckett, who handles media relations for the Fire Brigades Union, has taken down his post about his sparky conversation with the Sun's Whitehall correspondent Clodagh Hartley, on the FBU's planned strike action, after saying he now accepts that she "wasn't trying to bully or intimidate me".

Beckett blogs: "So – yes, I understand how deeply Clodagh was upset by my remarks yesterday. Does she understand how upset and angry the members of the Fire Brigades Union were about the story she ran the same day? And how little chance they have to reply to it? They can sit in their fire stations and fume, and throw things at the television, and if they vent their anger on the streets, they will be caught by cameras, and the Sun will be able to give them another kicking."

Still, Clodagh Hartley isn’t a natural bully. She’s a talented writer, and I hope she will not stay so long at the Sun that the poison enters her soul, and she ceases to be hurt by that sort of accusation."