Jamie Oliver pulls book over Indigenous Australians row

Jamie Oliver has apologised after his children's book was criticised for stereotyping First Nations Australians.

The celebrity chef admitted to the Guardian that he is "devastated" by the offence he has caused to First Nations people, after giving in to calls by Australia's peak body for Indigenous education to withdraw his children's book from sale.

"I am devastated to hear I have caused offence and wholly apologise for doing so," Oliver said in a statement.

"It was never my intention to misinterpret this deeply painful issue. Together with my publishers, we have decided to withdraw the book from sale."

Oliver is in Australia promoting his latest cookbook, Simply Jamie, but it is his 400-page fantasy novel for primary school-age children that has come under fire.

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation (Natsiec) described Oliver's book Billy and the Epic Escape as damaging and disrespectful and accused the celebrity of contributing to the "erasure, trivialisation and stereotyping of First Nations peoples and experiences".

The book features a subplot involving a young First Nations girl living in foster care in an Indigenous community near Alice Springs.

Oliver and his publisher, Penguin Random House UK, conceded that no consultation with any Indigenous organisation, community or individual took place before the book was published.