The editor of the NRC newspaper has made a formal apology to readers following the publication of an article about one of the men picked to lead the coalition formation talks, which later turned out to be false.

Former minister and businessman Hans Wijers stepped down from the role after the NRC newspaper published comments he is said to have made in a private app group and accused him of calling VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz a “liar” at a meeting on election night. The paper said it had 14 witnesses and a filmed recording of the event.

Shortly afterwards, another journalist came forward to say he, not Wijers, had made the comments, and this weekend the Volkskrant published a lengthy reconstruction of events, which showed how the NRC had distorted the situation.

“We gave the impression that we had more sources who heard Wijers saying ‘liar’ than we actually had,” editor in chief Patricia Veldhuis said in the note to readers. “We can no longer fully back our reporting on informateur Wijers.”

Wijers, who apologised for calling Yesilgöz a “liar”, even though he said he could not remember saying it, pulled out of the coalition talks after the paper went on to publish derogatory comments he made about the VVD leader in a private app conversation.

His decision means that CDA representative Sybrand Buma is conducting the negotiations alone with the CDA and D66 leaders Henri Bontenbal and Rob Jetten.

The talks entered their third week on Monday. Buma is due to report back to parliament on his findings in a few days’ time.