THE SUN newspaper was today condemned for printing a front page that gave a platform to JK Rowling’s abusive ex-husband.

Charities and feminist groups spoke out against the front page that had the headline “I slapped JK and I am not sorry.”

The newspaper had sent reporters to Porto, in Portugal, where Ms Rowling had lived with her ex Jorge Arantes in the 1990s, before she fled to Edinburgh with daughter Jessica who was then a baby.

It comes after Ms Rowling spoke of her experience of domestic violence and sexual assault in a blog post published this week on the sex versus gender debate.

She did not refer to Mr Arantes by name, but referred to her first marriage as “violent.”

The Sun reported that when reporters spoke to Mr Arantes, he said he had “not bothered” to read “accusations of abuse” by the Harry Potter author, but that he was “not sorry” for hitting her.

The charity Solace Women’s Aid said: “Newspapers should not give a platform to perpetrators of abuse to justify, minimise or victim blame. Full stop.”

Sussex domestic abuse charity Rise said: “Journalists have a responsibility to end a dangerous climate that tolerates domestic violence. This is not acceptable.”

A Women’s Equality Party spokeswoman lambasted the “disgraceful click-bait story,” adding: “Violence against women and girls is an epidemic and the media has the power to challenge rather than reinforce the context in which it takes place.”

Women’s Aid charity said that it has been “speaking to The Sun” about the “negative impact” that its front page has had.

A Sun spokeswoman defended the story, claiming that the newspaper’s “intention was to expose a perpetrator’s total lack of remorse.”