Piers Morgan

During the Leveson Inquiry, Morgan denied authorising or knowingly engaging in phone hacking at the Daily Mirror. Leveson found some aspects of his evidence unconvincing while stating that the available evidence was insufficient to establish that he had authorised unlawful acts. In 2023, in civil proceedings involving Prince Harry among others, a High Court judge found that Morgan had known about phone hacking at the Mirror.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Morgan said he did not believe several claims made by Meghan Markle in her Oprah Winfrey interview, including during a discussion concerning her mental health. Two Good Morning Britain programmes attracted 57,121 complaints to Ofcom. Following an on-air confrontation and disagreement with ITV, Morgan left the programme.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Following the Sandy Hook shooting, Morgan turned his CNN programme into a vigorous platform for stricter gun control, provoking intense reaction from gun-rights activists. An official petition seeking his deportation gathered tens of thousands of signatures, and his televised exchange with Alex Jones became emblematic.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Morgan and his wife bought Viglen shares the day before a favourable article appeared in the City Slickers financial column. The PCC found that Morgan had failed to meet professional standards and that the Mirror's compliance culture was inadequate. He sold the shares and donated his profit to charity.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Daily Mirror published photographs purportedly showing British soldiers abusing an Iraqi prisoner. After it was demonstrated that the images had been staged, the newspaper issued an unreserved apology and Morgan was dismissed as editor.

Attribution

Directly implicated

On the eve of the Euro 1996 semi-final between England and Germany, the Daily Mirror under Morgan published the front-page headline 'Achtung! Surrender!' with military imagery. The cover was condemned as jingoistic and anti-German, including by political figures.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

While editor of the News of the World, Piers Morgan published a photograph of Victoria Spencer taken with a telephoto lens while she was at an eating-disorder clinic. The Press Complaints Commission found an invasion of privacy, and Rupert Murdoch publicly reprimanded his young editor.

State of the evidence

Reported by the press

Attribution

Directly implicated