THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA–New Democrat MP Irene Mathyssen has formally apologized for mistakenly accusing a Tory of looking at "soft porn" photos of a "scantily clad woman" on his laptop computer in Parliament.

Mathyssen rose in the House of Commons today to say she should have approached James Moore and sought an explanation for the images she saw before launching her attack on Wednesday.

She had described the photos on Moore's computer screen as "soft porn."

They turned out to be images of Moore's girlfriend.

Mathyssen told the Commons she is "truly sorry" and she "fully and without qualification" apologized to Moore, a parliamentary secretary from British Columbia.

Mathyssen cancelled her morning schedule in the London, Ont.-area riding she represents and took an early flight to Ottawa to make the statement.