KUALA LUMPUR: The United Kingdom has, for the first time, formally acknowledged the 1948 Batang Kali massacre as a tragedy and expressed "deep regret" over the killing of 24 unarmed villagers by British troops during the Malayan Emergency.

In a letter dated March 31, UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific Catherine West said the massacre had caused "deep suffering" and was compounded by "unhelpful, incorrect narratives" that falsely portrayed the victims as insurgents — effectively overturning decades of official denial.