Piers Morgan: Reporting was on the cusp of unethical

Piers Morgan has said he thought reporting practices at ‘News of the World’ and the ‘Daily Mirror’ were “on the cusp of unethical” during his time as editor of the papers, but denied any knowledge of phone hacking.

Speaking to the Leveson Inquiry via video-link, Morgan said that phone hacking did not occur under his editorship at either of the titles “to the best of [my] recollection”, but that he had heard about the processes of phone hacking as early as January 2001.

The television presenter also said that it was “not unethical” to listen to a voicemail message from the phone of Heather Mills, played to him by a source during his time at the ‘Daily Mirror’. Morgan refused to tell the inquiry more, stating: “I can’t go into the details on this and I’m not prepared to reveal a source.”

However, he did later admit his thoughts on privacy sought by those in the public spotlight. “How much privacy are you entitled to if you are a famous public figure and you yourself use publicity for commercial gain? I have very little sympathy with celebrities who sell their weddings for £1m, one of the most private days of their lives and then have affairs,” Morgan said.

Quizzed on the newsgathering techniques of the tabloids, Morgan admitted using the services of Benjamin Pell, a man known to source information from the rubbish bins of celebrities. “It clearly it is a strange thing to do,” Morgan told the inquiry. “Did I think he was doing anything illegal? No. Did I think it was on the cusp of unethical? Yes.

“I wonder how unethical that is if it ends up in a newspaper, it’s rubbish,” he added.
Speaking before the conclusion of the afternoon hearing, Morgan criticised what he saw as the one-sided approach of the inquiry into tabloid news-gathering practices.

“I think there has to be better balance here,” he said. “I’m proud of a lot of things I did at the ‘News of the World’ and the ‘Daily Mirror’.”

During his time as editor, the ‘Daily Mirror’ twice won the prestigious “Scoop of the Year” award as well as the “Hugh Cudlipp Award” for outstanding tabloid journalism and was named “National Newspaper of the Year”.