Paper sorry for 'Best care story'

Barbara McNarry and her husband sued over the story

George Best's sister and her husband have won libel damages over newspaper claims about the support they gave to the soccer legend when he was ill.

The amount Barbara and Norman McNarry received from the Mail on Sunday was not disclosed but their solicitor Paul Tweed said it was "very substantial".

Northern Ireland's High Court heard the action against publishers Associated Newspapers, had been settled.

A lawyer for the paper apologised for the "distress and upset caused".

He read a statement to the court which "unreservedly accepted that any adverse inferences in the article were totally unjustified".

George Best died in 2005

The statement acknowledged that George's sister Barbara and his brother-in-law Norman McNarry and the rest of the family were fully supportive of George at all times.

"The defendant sincerely apologises to Norman and Barbara McNarry for the distress and upset caused by the article," the lawyer added.

Mr Tweed, a specialist libel lawyer in the firm of Johnsons, said: "My clients are very satisfied with this comprehensive and categoric retraction and apology for what was a totally unjustified and unfounded report."

He said that his clients now wanted "to put this matter behind them to enable them to concentrate on pursuing their vision for the George Best Foundation".

The ex-Manchester United and Northern Ireland star died in November 2005, aged 59.