The Sunshine Coast Daily has belatedly apologised for publishing a front page featuring Annastacia Palaszczuk in the crosshairs of a rifle with the words “Anna, you’re next”.

After initially refusing to remove the image, editor Craig Warhurst later said in a statement he apologised “to those of you in the community who feel let down and betrayed by the image”, following a storm of protest.

The News Corp paper’s election analysis “Labor rout puts Premier in crosshairs” argued that the Queensland Labor leader was now in danger of losing power after the ALP’s poor showing in the state in Saturday’s federal election.

The Queensland government has lodged a complaint with the Australian Press Council on the grounds the image encourages violence against women and has asked the Rupert Murdoch-owned regional paper to remove the image and apologise.

A spokesman for Palaszczuk said the image’s publicationwas “disturbing enough” but the paper’s reluctance to publish a prominent public apology immediately was outrageous. “The Sunshine Coast Daily should publish an apology online and in print and explain that they do not condone violence against politicians,” he said.

Darren Chester MP (@DarrenChesterMP) Appalling editorial decision on two levels... violence against women is a national scourge and suggesting any public figure is in the ‘crosshairs’ is irresponsible and potentially dangerous. It would be easy to make the political point without implied violence. Please apologise. pic.twitter.com/nL8FVYTrBr

In correspondence seen by Guardian Australia the premier’s office told the Sunshine Coast Daily on Monday it was concerned that the image had the potential to incite violence against the premier. “[We] ask that any such imagery is not used in the future and removed from the ‘Today’s Paper’ section of the Sunshine Coast Daily’s website immediately,” it said.

The acting Queensland police minister, Craig Crawford, called the image disgraceful, particularly in the context of an endemic of violence against women.

“I don’t condone a newspaper or anybody putting anybody’s head in crosshairs,” he told ABC radio in Brisbane. “Because that does incite violence. To some people out that it is an invitation to shoot the premier. There is absolutely no doubt what a person’s face in crosshairs means.”

The Sunshine Coast Daily’s deputy editor, John Farmer, told Palaszczuk’s office he did “not intend to pull down the front page from online, nor apologise” and offered to publish a letter.

“The front page is not an attempt to incite violence against the Premier,” Farmer said. “This was never our intention and it would never be at any time.

“What the front page seeks to highlight is the fact that Labor’s poor performance in the federal election in Queensland means the State Government is now in the political sights of the conservative parties in Queensland. A lot of that centres around the Adani process.

“That is all page one is meant to signify to readers. It reflects the sentiment of the outcome of the federal election in Queensland and the way many Queenslanders voted. It was a sentiment that proved decisive in determining the election.

Farmer said he “acknowledges” the premier’s fear “even if we think it is a bleak outlook on Queenslanders, and will not use the image again in post-election coverage”.

But on Tuesday morning Warhurst said a statement would appear in print on Wednesday. It reads:

“Our front page imagery in Monday’s edition of the Sunshine Coast Daily has been the cause of a lot of concern by our readers. Our intention was to reflect the sentiment that the result for Labor in Queensland was decisive in determining the federal election and that the Coalition parties would now turn their focus to the State Government.

“However having reviewed the front page and what our readers have told us, I agree it was a poor choice of imagery. We could have presented the message which we intended the page to convey in a different way.

“In no way does the Sunshine Coast Daily condone any sort of violence against women, the Premier, or any politicians or community leaders.

“Because of this, I also want to apologise to those of you in the community who feel let down and betrayed by the image.

“We won’t be re-running it and we are also publishing your criticism and concerns about the page. We give it, we have to take it and learn from these things.”



