BBC director general Tony Hall has apologised and said a mistake was made after a news report containing a racial slur was broadcast last month.
The N-word was used in full in a report about a racially aggravated attack in Bristol, broadcast by Points West and the BBC News Channel on 29 July.
The BBC initially defended the use of the slur after more than 18,600 complaints were made.
Lord Hall said he now accepts the BBC should have taken a different approach.
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