Montford has shown himself to be unreliable I have no view whether or not the purported email from Pearce is real but we go by reliable sources The Guardian online is good at correcting articles no reason why Pearce shouldnt use that route or his own blog to issue a retraction Note that if were going by blog sources email  reports that one reviewer definitely recommended rejection of SB and never saw the manuscript again to assess the appropriateness of the rewrite As stated earlier this section is overdue for a rewrite and clarification