Grisham apologises for Telegraph comments

Bestselling author John Grisham has apologised for remarks he made during an interview, where he said that prison sentences for some people viewing indecent images of children were "harsh".

In a statement released through US publisher Doubldeday, Grisham said: "I regret having made these comments, and apologise to all."

The author came under fire following an interview with the Daily Telegraph ahead of the release of his latest legal thriller, Gray Mountain (Hodder). Speaking about prison sentences, he said that while he had "no sympathy for real paedophiles – God, please lock those people up", that we have "gone nuts with this incarceration".

He said: "We've got prisons now filled with guys my age, 60-year-old white men, in prison, who have never harmed anyone. Who would never touch a child, but they got online one night, started surfing around, probably had too much to drink whatever and pushed the wrong buttons, and went too far and went into child porn or whatever."

In his apology, he said: "Anyone who harms a child for profit or pleasure, or who in any way participates in child pornography - online or otherwise - should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. My comments made two days ago during an interview with the British newspaper the Telegraph were in no way intended to show sympathy for those convicted of sex crimes, especially the sexual molestation of children. I can think of nothing more despicable."