Veteran rocker Morrissey has settled his libel lawsuit with editors at British music magazine NME following their publication of a formal apology on Tuesday.

The former The Smiths star sued the publication last year, alleging quotes he gave in a 2007 interview had been "altered" to make him appear racist.

He initially suggested he would drop the case if NME bosses said sorry for their actions, but he changed his mind earlier this year and a hearing was set for the case to go to trial at London's High Court in July.

However, it has now emerged that the two sides have since reached a mutual settlement, which required NME executives to post an official statement of apology both online and in its print publication.

The notice read: "In December 2007, we published an article entitled 'Morrissey: Big mouth strikes again'...

"We wish to make clear that we do not believe that he is a racist; we didn't think we were saying he was and we apologise to Morrissey if he or anyone else misunderstood our piece in that way. We never set out to upset Morrissey and we hope we can both get back to doing what we do best."

Representatives for NME's publishing company IPC Media have also revealed the deal did not include any financial compensation.

The follow-up statement, issued to Britain's Music Week industry paper, reads: "NME is pleased that it has buried the hatchet with Morrissey in respect of the libel case he brought against us. Morrissey sued over an article based on interviews with him which he believed accused him of racism...

"We have said sorry to Morrissey for any misunderstanding that may have arisen. The settlement with Morrissey does not involve payment of any damages or legal costs." (MT/WNWC/PAW)