Steve Coogan has claimed Piers Morgan is “symptomatic of the problem” with the tabloid press while criticising his “bullying behaviour” towards Meghan Markle.
The Alan Partridge actor/comedian appeared on ITV’s Peston last night (March 10) where he shared his thoughts on the fallout from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Coogan referenced Harry’s claims that the Royal Family is “controlled by the tabloids”, adding that “things got really nasty” for the couple after they took legal action on The Sun, The Mirror and The Mail.
“Anyone who stands up to the press is attacked by them because they’re bullies,” he said.
The actor, who was a key part of the Leveson Inquiry in 2011/2012, went on to speak about the Ofcom investigation into Piers Morgan after the host said on Good Morning Britain that he “didn’t believe” Markle’s claim she had been suicidal.
“Ofcom is investigating Piers Morgan for disbelieving Meghan’s mental health claims,” Coogan said. “But they should be investigating whether it was right for the man cited by dozens of claimants in the Mirror hacking litigation should have been allowed a platform to attack one of his accusers.”
He went on to say that “Piers Morgan is symptomatic of the problem with the tabloids”, accusing him of “bullying behaviour” towards the Duchess of Sussex.
Piers Morgan’s departure from his role on Good Morning Britain was announced on Tuesday evening (March 9) after mental health charity Mind – who partner with ITV on their Britain Get Talking campaign – raised concerns in a statement.
Piers Morgan, who was editor of the Daily Mirror from 1995-2004, has always denied any knowledge of hacking.
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