Prime minister apologizes to soldier's mom

LONDON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Britain's prime minister called the mother of a soldier killed in Afghanistan to apologize for mistakes he made in a letter to her, his office said.

Jacqui Janes, 47, said she counted 20 mistakes in Gordon Brown's four-line handwritten condolence letter that began: "Dear Mrs. James."

"He couldn't even be bothered to get our family name right," Janes told The Sun in a story published Monday. "That made me so angry."

Jamie Janes, 20, a member of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, was killed by an explosion in Afghanistan Oct. 5

After reading reports of the mother's outrage, Brown called Janes to assure her he meant no disrespect, his office told The Times of London in a story published Monday.

Brown personally writes to the families of every slain British soldier, an unidentified spokesman for his office told The Times.

"He would never knowingly misspell anyone's name," the spokesman said.