Former prime minister Julia Gillard has apologised to independent Senator Nick Xenophon for accusing him of electoral fraud during his university days.

In her autobiography My Story, Ms Gillard claimed the Senator was temporarily excluded from the University of Adelaide for adding extra invalid votes to a ballot box during a student election in the 1970s.

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“I am happy to apologise because I accept my recollection of the full details of this event was flawed,” Ms Gillard said in a statement on Thursday.

“It is a pity full details of this event are not readily ascertainable by any interested person.

“Regrettably and oddly, the student newspaper archives do not hold the relevant reports on those events.”

In light of the apology, Senator Xenophon abandoned a defamation law suit against the former PM.

“Her remarks were not only incredibly wrong, but also very hurtful,” he told News Corp.

“I’m glad she agreed to the apology and I wish her well.

“Despite this disagreement, I respect her for her positive achievements.

“I’m sorry she just got this so completely wrong.”