Susanna Reid – who was Piers Morgan’s co-host on Good Morning Britain before he left – has shown her support for him after Ofcom cleared the ex newspaper editor of any wrongdoing over his Meghan Markle comments
Susanna Reid has shared her support for ex-colleague and good pal Piers Morgan.
The TV host took to Twitter following the news breaking that he was cleared by Ofcom after the broadcasting regulator investigated Piers’ comments about the Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Ofcom ruled today that Good Morning Britain was not in breach of the broadcasting code over comments about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview.
Showing her joy that Piers was not in trouble, Susanna retweeted the ruling to her 829k Twitter followers after ITV new Royal Editor Chris Ship typed out the outcome of the investigation on the micro-blogging site.
Moments after the news broke, Piers – who exited GMB after the row – tweeted about his happiness over the ruling.
The bolshy TV host penned: “BREAKING: @Ofcom rejects all complaints against me over Meghan Markle furore that led to my exit from @GMB . Verdict says I was entitled to disbelieve her & Prince Harry & to restrict my right to do so would be a ‘chilling restriction on freedom of expression.”
Piers then added another message where he asked if he was getting his job back on the ITV morning show.
He boasted: “I’m delighted OFCOM has endorsed my right to disbelieve the Duke & Duchess of Sussex’s incendiary claims to Oprah Winfrey, many of which have proven to be untrue.
“This is a resounding victory for free speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios. Do I get my job back?”
An Ofcom spokesperson said of the decision to clear Piers: “This was a finely-balanced decision. Mr Morgan’s comments were potentially harmful and offensive to viewers, and we recognise the strong public reaction to them. But we also took full account of freedom of expression.
“Under our rules, broadcasters can include controversial opinions as part of legitimate debate in the public interest, and the strong challenge to Mr Morgan from other contributors provided important context for viewers.
“Nonetheless, we’ve reminded ITV to take greater care around content discussing mental health and suicide in future. ITV might consider the use of timely warnings or signposting of support services to ensure viewers are properly protected.”
Ex newspaper editor Piers landed himself in hot water with the regulator in March when he said he refused to believe comments made by the Duchess Of Sussex during an interview with Oprah Winfrey were true.
Meghan told how she struggled with her mental health while working as a senior member of the Royal Family and had been subject to racial discrimination in the Royal family.
Ofcom confirmed that 57,121 people – including Meghan herself – had submitted formal complaints over the presenter’s comments about her.
Piers sensationally quit his GMB role after bosses told him he must apologise for saying he did not believe the things Meghan and her husband Prince Harry had said during their sit down with Oprah.
After his exit, he told at his upset with colleague Suzanna in his column for the Daily Mail.
He said: “At 6.30am, I turned on GMB to see what my ‘TV wife’ Susanna would say about our sudden divorce.
“Stony-faced, she read a short, rather frosty statement: Piers and I have disagreed on many things and that dynamic was one of the things viewers loved about the programme.
“‘He is without doubt an outspoken, challenging, opinionated, disruptive broadcaster.
“‘He has many critics, and he has many fans. You will know that I disagreed with him about Meghan’s interview.
