By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON

A British newspaper will pay damages and costs after being sued in London by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump for reporting claims she had once worked as an escort.

The Daily Mail said in a statement on Wednesday it apologized to President Donald Trump’s wife for reporting the allegations -- which it later retracted -- and “for any distress that our publication caused her”.

“To settle Mrs. Trump's two lawsuits against us, we have agreed to pay her damages and costs,” the paper added.

The amount was not disclosed.

Allegations that Trump’s former modeling agency in New York “operated as an escort agency for wealthy clients” were not backed by evidence, the paper added in its apology.

The defamatory article was published in August 2016 during the U.S. presidential election.

“The Mail Online website and the Daily Mail newspaper published an article on 20th August 2016 about Melania Trump which questioned the nature of her work as a professional model, and republished allegations that she provided services beyond simply modelling,” the Daily Mail said.

“We accept that these allegations about Mrs. Trump are not true and we retract and withdraw them.”