Vodafone CEO takes an about-turn, sends ‘sorry’ mail to PM, telecom minister

NEW DELHI: A day after complaining that its India operations are on the brink of collapse over high taxes and spectrum dues demand, British telecom major Vodafone’s Global CEO Nick Read did a u-turn on Wednesday, claiming he was quoted out of context and re-affirmed the company’s commitment to the market.
Read, who on Tuesday was quoted by the media (while speaking in London) as complaining about “unsupportive regulation, (and) excessive taxes” in India, wrote a letter to PM Narendra Modi and telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday, where he “apologised for the impressions that the press coverage conveys” and about certain quotes “which I never said”, according to official sources.
“I wish to put on record that this does not accurately reflect my comments to the media. Furthermore, we did not speak to any Indian media yesterday, neither did any of my team,” Read said, as he claimed that “some of the coverage has been distorted.”