After commissioning polemical columnist Julie Burchill to write an article this Sunday, The Observer has taken the rather extraordinary step of trying to depublish it.

The column in question was a stout defence of her friend, the writer Suzanne Moore, against claims that she had made bigoted comments about the transgender community, and then refused to apologise for them.

Of course, The Observer’s attempt to withdraw the article failed – it was quickly republished by Toby Young of the Daily Telegraph.

The initial complaints about the article are now running second behind criticism of John Mulholland, the Observer editor, for dropping the piece and issuing a complete apology for it.

Having commissioned the article from Burchill in the first place – and knowing exactly what they would get in return – should the Observer have stuck by its column? And was there another way to deal with the inevitable backlash? Read it and decide.