The decision to issue an apology comes after the high court ruled last year that Morrissey could continue with his libel action over the article after NME sought to strike out his claim on grounds of delay.

The five-year dispute erupted in 2007 after Morrissey, then living in Rome, claimed damages over an interview headlined Morrissey: Big mouth strikes again, which appeared to criticise levels of immigration. Asked if he would ever move back to England, he was quoted as saying: "With the issue of immigration, it's very difficult because, although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.

"If you walk through Knightsbridge on any bland day of the week you won't hear an English accent. You'll hear every accent under the sun apart from the British accent."

He went on to say: "England is a memory now. The gates are flooded and anybody can have access to England and join in."

A furious Morrissey issued a writ for defamation against the magazine and its then editor Conor McNicholas, saying the publication had "deliberately tried to characterise me as a racist … in order to boost their dwindling circulation". He issued a statement that said: "I abhor racism and oppression or cruelty of any kind and will not let this pass without being absolutely clear and emphatic … Racism is beyond common sense and has no place in our society." In 2008, he donated £28,000 to Love Music Hate Racism.

A spokesman for NME said he now hoped both parties had "buried the hatchet" with the publication of a "clarification" in the magazine. The apology reads: "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."

The statement makes clear that no damages are being paid: "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 (other than a small sum of costs which the court ordered NME to pay last year when we applied unsuccessfully to have the case struck out on grounds of delay)."

Morrissey has been dogged by accusations of racism. In 1992, the singer was quoted in Q Magazine stating that he did not want to be "horrible or pessimistic", but he didn't "really think, for instance, black people and white people will ever really get on or like each other. I don't really think they ever will." The same year he appeared swathed in a union flag while on stage in Finsbury Park, north London, which led the NME to accuse him of "flirting with disaster" and racist imagery.

In an interview with the Guardian in 2010, he reignited the racism row after referring to the Chinese as a "subspecies" because of their treatment of animals.

Morrissey said in a statement: "If anyone has seen the horrific and unwatchable footage of the Chinese cat and dog trade – animals skinned alive – then they could not possibly argue in favour of China as a caring nation. There are no animal protection laws in China and this results in the worst animal abuse and cruelty on the planet. It is indefensible."

source: guardian