Al-Jazeera manager Adnan al-Sharif said the station had never reported the arrest, though it did carry reports from other agencies - which later proved to be untrue - that Sheikh Muqtada al-Sadr's house had been surrounded by US troops.
The Times reported the DCLG had refused to accept it would foot half the bill - but Downing Street has said reports of a row over where the money will come from are "simply untrue" and there was an agreement.