Entertainment
Steve Coogan slams Good Morning Britain and Piers Morgan for giving host ‘platform to attack’ Meghan Markle
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Steve Coogan has attacked Piers Morgan following his exit from Good Morning Britain, calling him ‘symptomatic of a problem with tabloids’.
It comes after Piers sensationally quit the ITV show after receiving 41,000 Ofcom complaints for refusing to believe Meghan Markle’s when she opened up about having suicidal thoughts.
Steve, who has been an ardent press reform campaigner for years, hit out at Piers and called the tabloid press ‘bullies’.
Speaking on ITV’s Peston show, Steve said: ‘Ofcom is investigating Piers Morgan for disbelieving Meghan’s mental health claims.
‘But they should be investigating whether it was right for the man cited by dozens of claimants in the Mirror hacking litigation to have been allowed a platform to attack one of his accusers.’
The actor was addressing the phone hacking scandal, which revealed The Sun and The Daily Mirror had been illegally intercepting celebrities’ voicemail messages. Piers had repeatedly claimed he had no knowledge of any hacking.
‘Piers Morgan, several years ago in front of the Leveson Inquiry, swore under oath that he had no knowledge of hacking at the Mirror Group newspapers. And The Mirror Group newspapers have paid out tens of millions [of pounds] in damages to litigants,’ Steve added.
The actor went on to say: ‘The tabloid press is controlled by a handful of tax shy billionaires with an agenda. Anyone who stands up to the press is attacked by them because they’re bullies.’
The actor, known primarily for his comedy character Alan Partridge, added: ‘[Meghan and Harry] had the money, which not many people do, to stand up when they’re being bullied by the press.’
Meanwhile, Piers is standing by his comments about Meghan made after her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey and has hinted that he’ll return to TV in some form soon.
Andrew Neil has revealed his plans for Piers amid speculation the broadcaster is set to join GB News following his departure.
Ben Shephard has also stressed that Good Morning Britain takes mental health ‘very seriously’ following Piers’ departure from the show, after Piers questioned Meghan Markle’s revelation that she considered suicide.
Multiple Good Morning Britain staff members reportedly made complaints about his comments surrounding Meghan Markle’s mental health.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Piers Morgan’s representatives for comment.
Peston airs on Wednesdays at 10.45pm on ITV.
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