[Samm]

Referring to reports at the weekend that Foster had been being caught shoplifting from Boots, @TheSun_Showbiz wrote: "Forget make up, the only way Tamera's gonna lose this is if she admits to stealing Maddie #XFactor."

The tweet was swiftly deleted, but not before several users condemned The Sun, which had featured a 12-page pull-out on the investigation to find Madeleine in that day's paper.

The Sun's editor David Dinsmore has since sent a letter expressing his "sincerest apologies" to Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann via their spokesperson Clarence Mitchell.

The offending tweet is believed to have been written by a freelance journalist, who has since been disciplined.

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