Rupert Everett [P-Panty Waist] calls soldiers wimps.

Rupert Everett, the actor, has made an unreserved apology for calling soldiers "wimps" and suggesting they went into the Army to torture prisoners.

The star of My Best Friend's Wedding, 49, caused consternation with his attack in The Sunday Telegraph.

In an interview to publicise his new film The Victorian Sex Explorer, in which he plays the renowned explorer Sir Richard Burton, he said: "In Burton's day they were itching to get into the fray. Now it is the opposite. They are always whining about the dangers of being killed. Oh my God, they are such wimps now!

"The whole point of being in the Army is wanting to get killed, wanting to test yourself to the limits. Now you have to fly 15,000ft above the war zone to avoid getting hit. I don't think there is any point in having wars if that's how you're going to behave. It's pathetic. All this whining!"