Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley has said he is "deeply apologetic" for initially questioning store lockdown measures amid the coronavirus crisis.
The businessman had originally touted the prospect of opening his stores amid the virus closures, asking the Government whether his shops should operate, though backed down from this.
Mr Ashley had tried to claim Sports Direct was an essential operator for keeping the nation fit, so should be able to run.
In an open letter, he said: “Our intentions were only to seek clarity from the Government as to whether we should keep some of our stores open; we would never have acted against their advice.
“In hindsight, our emails to the Government were ill-judged and poorly timed, when they clearly had much greater pressures than ours to deal with.
“On top of this, our communications to our employees and the public on this was poor.
“To reiterate, I am deeply apologetic about the misunderstandings of the last few days. We will learn from this and will try not to make the same mistakes in the future.”
Mr Ashley, the majority owner of Frasers Group, also said he has offered the company’s “entire fleet of lorries” to the NHS to help deliver medical supplies and equipment.
He faced a raft of criticism from MPs and the PM warned Mr Ashley, along with other business owners, of the consequences of not heeding the rules when quizzed over the issue in Parliament.
It comes after the Government imposed strict measures meaning only stores deemed to be selling essential products could trade.
This includes establishments such as grocery stores and pharmacies.
