DUE
—adjective. 1 owing or payable. 2 (often foll. By to) merited; appropriate. 3 (foll. By to) that ought to be given or ascribed to (a person, cause, etc.) (first place is due to milton; difficulty due to ignorance). 4 (often foll. usage the use of due to to mean ‘because of’ as in the example given is regarded as unacceptable by some people and could be avoided by substituting his lateness was due to an accident. Alternatively, owing to could be used.