Piers Morgan Ofcom Victory WASN’T

Our free and fearless press has this morning been celebrating the apparent vindication of one of its own: broadcast regulator Ofcom has ruled that ITV breakfast offering Good Morning Britain did not breach the broadcasting code during a show that turned out to be the last appearance of former Screws and Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan. Morgan has, to no surprise at all, taken this as an endorsement of Himself Personally Now.

And what's more, Ron

The Rothermere Press, where Morgan is an “editor at large” for Mail Online, has endorsed this view, with the Daily Mail commissioning Glenda Cattia Maxima Jan Moir to dash off a few hundred words of suitably poisonous bile directed at the complainant, the Duchess of Sussex (Boo Megs!). Morgan, meanwhile, has taken out his onion. “It was preposterous that I had to leave a job I loved because I didn't believe a demonstrable liar”.

It was Morgan’s choice to go, but in the retelling, eh? And, sadly, there was more: “But it happened because the corporate world has been cowed into surrendering to the woke mob whenever it bays for blood”. Why is he sneering at those who are concerned about societal injustice, and especially racism? Who knows? And, indeed, who cares?

But when one gets away from Morgan’s predictable exercise in personal aggrandisement, and the Ofcom ruling is considered in a little more detail, it comes clear that he has not emerged victorious at all. It is ITV that has been exonerated, and that exoneration is down to his co-hosts on GMB pushing back against his outburst, thus creating balance.

Here’s what the Ofcom spokesman said: “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”. Other contributors. Balance.

This from the actual judgement: “This programme focused on the interview between Oprah Winfrey and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It contained statements about suicide and mental health which had the potential to be harmful and highly offensive”. However.

“However, our decision is that overall the programme contained sufficient challenge to provide adequate protection and context to its viewers. We also considered that the comments about race in the programme could have been potentially highly offensive, but that the comments were sufficiently contextualised. Therefore, our decision is that the programme did not breach the Ofcom broadcasting code”. Context. Balance.

The BBC report on the ruling carries this Ofcom comment: “We were particularly concerned about Mr Morgan's approach to such an important and serious issue and his apparent disregard for the seriousness of anyone expressing suicidal thoughts”. But adds "Ofcom ‘would have been seriously concerned’ if he had not been challenged by co-hosts Susanna Reid and Chris Ship, which provided ‘adequate protection for viewers’”.

In other words, ITV - not Piers Morgan - has been saved by the journalistic instincts of Ship and Ms Reid. And indeed those of Alex Beresford, who was subjected to a racist pile-on as a result while Morgan looked on and said nothing. Victory my arse.

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