German 'plagiarism' minister Guttenberg drops doctorate

German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has temporarily renounced his doctorate title following accusations of plagiarism.

German media allege several passages of his 2006 thesis were lifted from other people's work.

The minister strongly denied the claims. He said there were undoubtedly mistakes and he was unhappy about them.

Chancellor Angela Merkel had offered to support him if he explained his actions and apologised, reports say.

But her chief spokesman Steffen Seibert made no comment on the defence minister's statement at a Berlin news conference, prompting journalists to walk out.