Obeid book pulped pending legal action

Thousands of copies of a best-selling book about corrupt former NSW Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid have been pulled from sale.

The book, `He Who Must Be Obeid', was removed from bookshops and online by publisher Random House Books Australia yesterday amid warnings of legal action.

A former head of the Tourism Task Force, Chris Brown, claims the book, written by Sydney Morning Herald journalist Kate McClymont and her then-colleague and now ABC journalist Linton Besser, defames him.

"The book contained a misidentification," Random House marketing and publicity director Brett Osmond told AAP today.

"We've acted quickly.

"The small amount of text that required a rewrite has been rewritten to correct the error."

Several thousands of copies of the book were removed from shelves across Australia.

It's being reprinted and will be available for sale within the week.

Mr Brown said he was mistaken for a man with the same name born years earlier.

"My legal team has injuncted the book, had it forced off the bookshelves to be pulped, a new edition to have corrections included, with public apologies to be issued in due course for damages obviously to be lodged," he told ABC Radio.

Ms McClymont, who was covering the latest NSW corruption inquiry, tweeted a formal apology today would be made.

She wrote: "#icac media room helpfully offering suggestions re any new version of He Who Must Be Obeid. Formal apology to come re mistaken identity (sic)."

Dymocks Bookstore on Sydney's George Street confirmed today that all copies of the book had been removed from its shelves.

An employee said about 150 copies were taken down, adding that the book had been selling well since it was released last month.