Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale dropped his lawsuit against Rob Ford after the Toronto mayor issued a second apology Wednesday night.

Following his apology at city council on Tuesday, Ford sent Dale a written, two-page apology.

Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale dropped his lawsuit against Rob Ford after the Toronto mayor issued a second apology Wednesday night.

Following his apology at city council on Tuesday, Ford sent Dale a written, two-page apology.

“There was no basis for me to say that Mr. Dale was ever in my backyard or on my property and I should not have said that. Accordingly, I apologize to Mr. Dale for the inaccurate manner in which I described the incident of May 2012,” Ford wrote in the letter, adding that had no basis “for any insinuations I made. I should not have said what I did, and I wholly retract my statements and apologize to Mr. Dale without reservation for what I said. I sincerely hope that Mr. Dale will accept my personal apology for my comments and all harm my words may have caused him.”

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ZoomerMedia, the parent company of Vision Television, also issued a statement apologizing for its role in airing the Ford interview, the Toronto Star reported.

“We have always believed that this was primarily a matter between Mr. Dale and Mr. Ford,” the network said in an emailed statement to the Star. “However, we sincerely regret the part ZoomerMedia played in broadcasting the offending words spoken by Mr. Ford, and apologize for that. We can confirm that those words will never again be broadcast on any of our television outlets or websites.”

Dale accepted Ford’s written apology. Previously, he had said he planned to continue with the libel suit after Ford’s public apology in council. Dale said he is also dropping the lawsuit against Vision Television.

“I sincerely appreciate Mayor Ford’s complete retraction and unqualified apology, and I’m very glad the truth is no longer in dispute,” Dale said in the Star article. “I appreciate Zoomer's statement. While it's hard to understand how the mayor's comments made it to air, I won't be taking legal action.”

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