Robbie Williams is not meaning any harm

Nigel Martin-Smith seemed delighted with the apology Robbie Williams gave him in court yesterday. But how genuine was the apology?

David Sherborne, Mr Martin-Smith's counsel, told the High Court that the lyrics had been changed prior to the release of the Rudebox album in 2006.

He said the 33-year-old star "wishes now to apologise publicly".

Mr Sherborne added: "Robbie Williams did not intend to allege that Nigel Martin-Smith has ever stolen any funds from Take That or anyone."

Hmm. Really? Because writing a line that reads "Either you’re a thief or you’re shit/ which one will you admit to?" seems to leave little room for there to be an interpretation that there was no intention to allege that Nigel Martin-Smith hadn't stolen from people; the question has to be: what the hell did Williams intend to allege, then?