Hated Hungarian reporter apologises: I thought the refugee was attacking me!?

The Hungarian reporter who caused global outrage after being filmed tripping refugees as they ran has apologised, explaining that something "snapped" inside her, reports The Guardian, as carried by the Patria news agency.

In a letter sent to the right-wing daily Magyar Nemzet, Petra Laszlo said she is still in shock over the incident, but denied accusations of racism. She added that she cannot believe she did what she did.

"The camera was rolling, hundreds of migrants broke through the police cordon, one of them rushed towards me and I got scared," she wrote.

"Then something snapped inside me... I thought I was being attacked and had to defend myself. It is not easy to make a good decision at a time when people are panicking," she added. 

Laszlo accepts responsibility for her actions, but insists she is not a heartless racist who hits children.

"I do not deserve a political witch hunt against me, nor death threats," she wrote.

"I am just an unemployed mother of small children who made a wrong decision. I am truly sorry," Laszlo laments, who was fired after the footage of her tripping refugees went viral. Laszlo could face legal consequences for her act, and a criminal investigation against her has already been opened, reports Index.