The blunder, which may lead to mass sackings at the paper's Glasgow base in Kinning Park, was not discovered until after the paper had hit the streets. The Sun's ashen-faced Editor, David Dunsmore, who, it was rumoured, may resign because of the scandal said:
“We've been caught out big time; bang to rights; in fact”
The storm blew up when someone at The Sun noticed that a routine article on ‘Lotto Lout' Michael Carroll had failed to contain a single reference to Carroll's fanatical support of The Rangers Football Club!
An unidentified sub-editor stated:
“This is an absolute disaster. Normally, all our word processors are programmed so that when, ‘Mikey Carroll' is typed the computer automatically inserts the words ‘Rangers fanatic' in front of his name. We've just had a new system installed and we think someone has forgotten to load this default into the upgraded system. All the guys are totally shattered”
A representative of the Anti- Rangers organisation, Nil By Mouth, Peter Itwuzthemdobs, commented:
“After all the good work that has been done by NBM, the Scottish Executive and the mhedia in demonising the DOB's, this one solitary act has set us back years and done untold damage that may never be repaired. We had reached the stage where we had convinced everyone that mattered, including the Huns owner, David Murray, that they and they alone are responsible for all the world's ill from the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ to the Iraq war. Now, we'll just have to start all over again.”
Despite the magnitude of the disaster Mr Itwasthemdobs was defiant:
“Don't worry, with the backing of the Scottish Executive's money and our friends in the mhedia we will right this terrible wrong; our day will come.”
FOR THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE - The Sun, 3rd August 2006; page 9; column 1; “Gipsies beat up lotto lout Carroll at race”