M&C Saatchi’s global chief executive, Moray MacLennan (main picture), has issued a statement following comments from a fortnight ago by its UK creative director, Justin Tindall, who caused a right industry stink after suggesting he was “bored of diversity being prioritised over talent” in adland.

MacLennan’s statement was published on the M&C Saatchi website and said the agency had met with Tindall over his comments and that it had resisted calls for him to be sacked. You can read the statement in full here.

“What he [Tindall] wrote was wrong and he fundamentally messed up on the point that he was trying to make – that our industry’s response to issues, such as diversity, is inadequate and superficial,” MacLennan wrote.

“I have sat down with Justin, and listened to him. I am convinced through both his words and former deeds that he can be part of the solution and is not part of the problem. Justin’s words were not that he was ‘bored with diversity’, but he does know that his words were wrong and have upset people.

“Some people have questioned why we haven’t dismissed him. My answer is that we will not dismiss someone because it is demanded on Twitter, we will do what is right knowing the facts,” the statement read.