Saying sorry is rare enough in politics for the effect to be extraordinarily disarming.
This is as close as a right-wing British Tory comes to saying sorry.
Still, fear of the legal consequences of saying sorry may be overblown.
I'm told that many close to Nick Clegg reminded him of the old dictum - never apologise, never explain - but he decided that saying sorry was his best hope of persuading voters to listen to the "right things" his party stands for instead of only remembering what he now acknowledges was a mistake.
Roger Buckingham, 31, charged with murdering Piotr Mikiewicz, apologised to the man's family as he gave evidence at the Old Bailey, saying "So sorry".
After a win over Leeds United, Sir Alex slammed his opponent, saying he felt sorry for its manager, since it had played badly all season and had only tried hard against his team.
Two weeks later, he came home gaunt, smelling of beer, crying, saying he was sorry, that he had pawned the jewelry to the Hausa traders in Enugu, and that all the money was gone.
Tony Blair's office responded by saying he was sorry that Dr Tutu had pulled out, adding that the former prime minister and the former Archbishop of Cape Town "were never actually sharing a platform" together.
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Chapman's father, Wilbur -- retired from the Air Force after 21 years -- said his son called them Christmas morning on a satellite phone, saying he was sorry not to be with his wife and children.
Unlike Bernie Madoff, Mr. Rothstein sent a note to the victims of his Ponzi scheme, saying that he was sorry.
If national carriers became foreign-owned, they ran "the risk of every other country saying, 'Sorry, you're unable to fly', " he said.
He credits graduating high school to the U.S. Marine Corps, saying his teachers felt sorry for him because he was heading to Vietnam.
In August 2009, then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote a letter in the Daily Telegraph saying that he was sorry for what had happened.
The former vice presidential candidate says she wants to tamp down news stories about a remark she made, though she's hardly saying she's sorry.
That's what I call doubling down on saying you're sorry.
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Founder Michael Fowler posted a message on the company's website saying he was "extremely sorry" for the issue.
At the time the BBC apologised, saying it was "genuinely sorry" for causing upset, but hoped "it would be clear from the absurdity of the context that no offence was intended".
It's to prove that Apple actually has something of a track record for saying that it's sorry, and in the case of Maps, going so far as to recommend its chief rivals (Google and Nokia) by name as stop-gap alternatives.
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Minutes earlier, Martin had read out an official statement to Parliament saying that he was "profoundly sorry" to the British public for his role in the MPs expenses controversy.
Sir Irvine has already apologised for his comments saying he was "deeply and sincerely sorry" and insisted he had been given "wholly inaccurate" information by police officers.
He was also quoted as saying by the NDTV news channel that he was sorry if anybody was hurt because of the misunderstanding.
He is also quoted as saying by the NDTV news channel that he was sorry if anybody was hurt because of the misunderstanding.
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And this girl broke down and started crying and saying, you know, Derek, I'm sorry I've been so mean to you.
Energy minister Greg Barker tweeted that he was "very sorry" to see Lord Marland leave the government, saying he had done a "fantastic job" and ministers had benefited from his "business brain".
He apologised a day later saying Liverpool fans were "in no way to blame" for the disaster and that he was sorry if he had "caused any further upset".
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