Sydney man Benjamin Cohen, who Seven News wrongly named on air as the Bondi Junction killer, has reached a confidential settlement with the network.

The university student hired defamation lawyers and sent a notice of concern to Seven 10 days ago. The network offered to make peace, and Cohen agreed to the terms.

Seven chairman and chief executive Jeff Howard, who replaced James Warburton a week ago, told Cohen he accepted the identification “was a serious mistake and that these claims were totally false and unsubstantiated”.

“Seven withdraws the false allegations without reservation and apologizes for the harm you and your family have suffered as a result of Seven’s statements about you,” Howard said in a letter to Cohen released by his lawyers.

On the Sunday morning after the Bondi stabbings, Seven’s breakfast show Weekend Sunrise and its YouTube channel named Cohen as the perpetrator without police confirmation.

During a live crossover from Bondi Junction to the studio, Sunrise co-host Matt Shirvington said the killer was “Benjamin Cohen, 40, wearing a Kangaroos ARL shirt”.

Another journalist repeated the false claim a few minutes later.

“The attacker, Benjamin Cohen, 40, is known to the police, his motives are still unknown, he was working alone,” said the other journalist. On YouTube, a caption referred to Cohen as the attacker.

In the letter, Howard explained that a Seven producer mistakenly believed that information relating to a 40-year-old man called “Benjamin Cohen” had been confirmed as correct information about the Westfield Bondi Junction attacker.

“This led to the inclusion in the news broadcast by Seven at approximately 6.05am and 6.15am of the words mentioned in the concern notice and for a short time on Seven’s social media channels,” he said.

“The error quickly became apparent and the name ‘Benjamin Cohen’ was no longer broadcast in Seven’s ongoing news coverage. Seven tried to find a contact number for you, but didn’t find one until your mother called the newsroom.

“Seven staff, including especially its on-air presenters Mr Shirvington and Mrs (Lucy) McLeod, are devastated that the mistake was made and that it has affected them.

“Seven would like to reassure you that the error originated at producer level and that Seven presenters were in no way involved in suggesting or scripting the words that were published.

“However, both Mr Shirvington and Ms McLeod wish to offer their personal apologies for the pain and distress caused. While Seven does not suggest it is relevant to his reaction, we note that the staff members involved are deeply remorseful and traumatized by the mistake.”

Cohen’s attorney, Patrick George, said he was also instructed to file statements with the police commissioner “regarding the conduct of certain individuals on social media who originated, agitated or facilitated this dangerous and damaging false allegation.”

On Saturday night after the stabbings, Cohen’s LinkedIn profile was shared on X by accounts that falsely claimed he resembled the attacker.

Cohen issued a statement through his lawyers: “Users who abuse a platform to target individuals or communities should be held accountable for the consequences of their actions, and platforms should be held more accountable for the content they host.”

An offer to make amends must include an offer to pay expenses reasonably incurred by the aggrieved person and may include an apology or an offer to pay compensation.

Several hours after Cohen was named, New South Wales police revealed the identity of the then-deceased attacker as Joel Cauchi, a 40-year-old man from Queensland.

In 2022, the Seven Network misidentified another man as Cleo Smith’s alleged kidnapper. He reached a confidential settlement in Western Australia’s supreme court.