Mr Mason has made clear that he regrets the offence and upset that has been caused by his comments, and that he is extremely sorry that this has happened.

Ms Sturgeon added: I would like to offer my own personal apology to you for the upset that has been caused to you as a result of comments made by a member of my party.

The MSP was criticised by politicians in Scotland and Northern Ireland and initially refused to withdraw his comments before apologising last Tuesday, almost a week after the row erupted

The apology emerged after he was contacted by Bill Kidd, the SNP chief whip, who told him in an email that the issue could cause Ms Sturgeon embarrassment. He also called on Mr Mason to come to his office last Tuesday to talk about the way this story has developed publicly and find a way to avoid a repeat of it.

A memorial was dedicated to the three soldiers in 2010 close to where they were killed in north Belfast.

Last month the controversial 59-year-old backbencher was forced to deny trivialising rape when he argued there should be a second independence referendum because a girl does not always say yes first time.

Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, called on Ms Sturgeon to take disciplinary action against him

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Nicola Sturgeon apologises for MSP's IRA 'freedom fighters' comment - Telegraph.co.uk