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Australia’s High Court has upheld a ruling that radio station 2Day FM broke the law by airing a hoax call to a hospital which was treating Kate Middleton for morning sickness.
DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian made international headlines in 2012 when nurse Jacintha Saldana who fell for their prank later killed herself.
On March 4, the High Court overturned a previous decision which cleared 2Day FM.
The station could now be fined or see its license suspended or revoked.
2Day FM said Wednesday’s decision “means that there is a serious defect in Australian broadcasting law”.
The High Court ruling upheld an earlier finding by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) that the station broke the law by not obtaining consent to air the call from either of the hospital staff featured.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian called King Edward VII’s Hospital in London on December 2012 pretending to be the Queen and Prince Phillip.
Nurse Jacintha Saldana, 46, answered the call and transferred it to a colleague, who gave details of Kate Middleton’s condition. Following widespread media coverage Jacintha Saldanha was found hanged three days later.
ACMA had ruled in November 2013, nearly a year after the prank took place, that the radio station had broken the law by broadcasting the call.
The station successfully sued the ACMA in the Federal Court, arguing that the media watchdog did not have the authority to decide whether a criminal offence had been committed and overturned its decision.
Wednesday’s High Court ruling reverses that Federal Court decision, finding that the ACMA does have that power. The authority can now decide whether to issue a penalty to the station of a fine or suspension of license.
In February 2013, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service said there was no evidence to support a charge of manslaughter against Mel Greig and Michael Christian.
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Mel Greig, the Australian radio DJ who took part in the royal hoax call after which nurse Jacintha Saldanha killed herself, has told of her own fears after receiving death threats and bullets in the post.
In a recent interview with BBC Two’s Newsnight, Mel Greig said: “I was in lockdown for months. There were bullets with our name on it sent to police stations.”
She also revealed that that at one point someone had rung her mother and said “eye for an eye, you deserve to die”.
Nurse Jacintha Saldanha died in 2012, after the hoax call to a London hospital treating the pregnant Kate Middleton.
Mel Greig and colleague Michael Christian made their prank call to King Edward VII’s Hospital in December 2012.
Mel Greig took part in the royal hoax call after which nurse Jacintha Saldanha killed herself
They pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles asking about Kate Middleton’s treatment for severe morning sickness.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, answered the call and transferred it to a colleague, who gave details of the duchess’s condition.
The nurse was found hanged three days later.
In her first UK broadcast interview, Mel Greig said she will always feel at fault “to an extent” about her death.
“I was mentioned in Jacintha’s suicide note – not the Australian DJ, my name,” she said.
“She thought of me before she took her own life. How can you not feel guilt and blame? And I always will, but I have learnt to deal with it now.”
Mel Greig revealed how she had been the victim of death threats since the incident.
“I don’t want to sit here and go <<poor me, it was terrible>>,” she said.
“[The Saldanha family] have lost a wife and a mother, but the trolling and the death threats were disgusting.”
Mel Greig said as well as the bullets being sent in the post, she had been stalked and harassed for 18 months.
She said the worst point was when someone rang her mother and threatened her with revenge.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian were working for Sydney’s 2Day FM when they made the hospital call.
She quit at the end of last year.
Mel Greig said she would urge anyone in the radio industry thinking about making a prank call to seriously consider the potential consequences.
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DJ Mel Greig, who was at the centre of Kate Middleton prank call, linked to the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha, has resigned from Australian radio station 2Day FM.
Mel Greig, who will leave her post at the end of December, has also dropped legal proceedings against her employer Southern Cross Austereo (SCA).
She launched a claim against the company in July, claiming it failed to maintain a safe workplace.
An SCA statement said the dispute had been “amicably resolved”.
Exactly one year ago, Mel Greig and her co-host, Michael Christian, made a prank call to the King Edward VII hospital where pregnant Kate Middleton was being treated for morning sickness.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles seeking information on Kate Middleton’s condition.
Mel Greig has resigned from Australian radio station 2Day FM
Nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who answered the phone, transferred the call to a colleague. The 46-year-old was found hanged three days later.
The incident prompted widespread criticism of the DJs, who apologized in the wake of the incident.
Mel Greig has remained off air but co-host Christian returned to work two months later.
She wanted it “made clear” that she was not responsible for the decision to broadcast the call.
In the statement about Mel Greig’s departure from the company, Southern Cross Austereo reiterated its position that recording and broadcasting the call was “not unlawful”.
It also said 2Day FM decided to broadcast the call despite suggestions from Mel Greig that it should be changed. It stressed that SCA had “at all times taken complete responsibility for the hoax call”.
In February, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service decided there was insufficient evidence to charge Michael Christian and Mel Greig with manslaughter over Jacintha Saldanha’s death.
Mel Greig is expected to give a statement at the inquest into Jacintha Saldanha’s death. SCA added that they would also co-operate fully.
Australian radio station 2Day FM at the center of Kate Middleton prank call “broke the law”, the country’s media watchdog has said.
The finding came in a confidential, preliminary report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which emerged in a court case.
The report said 2Day FM acted illegally by airing the phone call without consent.
Lawyers for 2Day FM’s owner, Southern Cross Austereo, are seeking to block the report, according to local media.
2Day FM acted illegally by airing Kate Middleton prank call without consent
The document came to light as part of their Federal Court hearing, in which they argue the ACMA does not have the power to make a criminal finding, only the courts do.
Australian Federal Police are currently investigating the call.
Nurse Jacintha Saldanha in UK was found dead in December, three days after DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian duped her into transferring a call to the Duchess of Cambridge’s hospital ward.
A ward nurse at King Edward VII’s Hospital then gave the DJs details about the condition of Kate Middleton, who was being treated for severe morning sickness at the time.
Michael Christian returned to work two months after the prank call, while Mel Greig remains off air and is suing her employer for failing to provide a safe workplace.
Mel Greig is due to give evidence in person at the London inquest into Jacintha Saldanha’s death. The inquest was delayed in July for the second time to give coroner Dr. Fiona Wilcox time to “seek more information”.
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Mel Greig, the Australian DJ behind Kate Middleton prank call linked to the death of UK nurse Jacintha Saldanha, has sued her employer, saying it failed to provide a safe workplace, local media say.
Mel Greig’s lawyer said a complaint against Southern Cross Austereo had been lodged with Fair Work Australia.
She and her co-host Michael Christian made a prank call to the London hospital where the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge was being treated for morning sickness last year.
The nurse who answered the phone call was later found dead.
Mel Greig remains off air in the wake of the incident, but co-host Michael Christian returned to work two months later.
“I can confirm that a general protections application has been filed with Fair Work Australia on behalf of Mel Greig against Southern Cross Austereo alleging the radio station failed to maintain a safe workplace,” Mel Greig’s lawyer, Steven Lewis, told local media in Australia.
“The matter will proceed to confidential conciliation under the Fair Work Act.”
Mel Greig remains off air in the wake of Kate Middleton nurse prank call, but co-host Michael Christian returned to work two months later
No further details of the complaint were available.
Fair Work Australia, the national workplace relations tribunal, said it would try a conciliation conference for the two parties, local media report.
If the issue cannot be resolved, Mel Grieg will have to seek legal recourse in a federal court.
Her employer has yet to issue a comment on the matter.
Nurse Jacintha Saldanha put the Australian DJs through to another nurse at the King Edward VII’s Hospital in Marylebone, who gave an update on the duchess’s condition – an incident that drew widespread media coverage in the UK.
Jacintha Saldanha believed the DJs were the Queen and Prince Charles.
The 46-year-old wife and mother-of-two was found hanged three days later. An inquest into her death has yet to be held.
In February, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service decided there was insufficient evidence to charge Michael Christian and Mel Greig with manslaughter over Jacintha Saldanha’s death.
Mel Greig is expected to appear at the inquest into Jacintha Saldanha’s death, expected later this year.
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Jacintha Saldanha’s suicide note has revealed that Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian, who were given details of Kate Middleton’s health by the nurse during a radio hoax, drove her to take her own life.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, directly blamed the radio presenters in a suicide letter found by her hanged body.
The note said: “I hold the Radio Australians Mel Greig and Michael Christian responsible for this act.
“Please make them pay for my mortgage.”
Jacintha Saldanha left the handwritten note in her living quarters close to King Edward VII’s Hospital where Kate Middleton was being treated for acute morning sickness last year.
The nurse took her own life last December- just three days after she transferred the hoax call to a ward nurse.
It had been thought that Jacintha Saldanha was unhappy with how the hospital treated her after falling victim to the prank call.
But she exonerates the hospital from any responsibility in the letter and points the finger of blame at the 2Day FM presenters.
Jacintha Saldanha, a mother-of-two, addressed the message to her managers at the exclusive London hospital.
She said: “Please accept my apologies. I am truly sorry. Thank you for all your support.”
Jacintha Saldanha’s suicide note has revealed that Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian drove her to take her own life
An inquest into Jacintha Saldanha’s death was due to begin this week but has been delayed. The nurse was found hanging by a scarf from a wardrobe in her bedroom on December 7.
Jacintha Saldanha shared a home in Bristol, UK, with her husband Benedict Barboza, 49, and their two children, Junal, 17, and Lisha, 14.
She had been working in England for ten years but was said to be having problems working at King Edward VII.
It has been revealed Jacintha Saldanha had been taking anti-depressants for nine months after attempting suicide twice in 2011.
She was closely monitored as a high-suicide risk but her employers were unaware of this.
Radio DJ Mel Greig has not returned to work since the hoax call was broadcast in December.
She made the call with co-host Michael Christian, who has since taken a lower profile job at a Melbourne station.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian were sent death threats and hate mail in the aftermath of the prank call.
The radio presenters rang the hospital impersonating Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles and asked questions about Kate Middleton’s pregnancy.
Southern Cross Austereo, which owns the radio station, has offered to pay 500,000 AUD into a trust fund for Jacintha Saldanha’s family.
Labour MP Keith Vaz spoke on behalf of Jacintha Saldanha’s family.
He said: “The forthcoming inquest will hopefully provide answers for the family and for them time will represent closure.”
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Michael Christian, one of the two Australian DJs who made a prank call to the London hospital where Kate Middleton was being treated, is back on air.
Michael Christian was suspended two months ago by 2Day-FM in Sydney after nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who answered the phone – and believed the callers to be the Queen and Prince Charles – was found dead.
He is broadcasting on sister-station Fox FM in Melbourne.
His co-presenter at the time of the prank, Mel Greig, is still off the air.
Kate Middleton was being treated at King Edward VII’s Hospital for an extreme form of morning sickness when Michael Christian and Mel Greig made their prank call pretending to be members of the Royal Family.
The nurse answered the call and put them through to another nurse who gave an update on the duchess’s condition.
Jacintha Saldanha, a 46-year-old wife and mother-of-two, was found hanged three days later. She had left three suicide notes, her inquest revealed as it was opened and adjourned.
Michael Christian, one of the two Australian DJs who made a prank call to the London hospital where Kate Middleton was being treated, is back on air
Earlier this month the Crown Prosecution Service decided there was insufficient evidence to charge Michael Christian and Mel Greig with manslaughter over Jacintha Saldanha’s death.
2Day FM is owned by Southern Cross Austereo and its chief executive officer, Rhys Holleran, said: “We are happy to have Michael back on air.
“We have always supported our talent returning to work when appropriate and today marks that occasion for MC [Michael Christian]. We look forward to welcoming Mel Greig back when the time is right.”
Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian, who made a hoax call to the UK hospital treating Kate Middleton, will not face charges, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian phoned the King Edward VII’s Hospital pretending to be members of the Royal Family asking about Kate Middleton’s treatment for severe morning sickness.
Nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found dead three days after taking the call.
The CPS said there was no evidence to support a charge of manslaughter.
Although it said that there was some evidence to warrant further investigation of offences under the Data Protection Act, the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and the Communications Act 2003, it added that this would not take place as any potential prosecution would not be in the public interest.
Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian, who made a hoax call to the UK hospital treating Kate Middleton, will not face charges
Malcolm McHaffie, deputy head of special crime at the CPS, said a number of issues had been taken into account in reaching its conclusion.
“It is not possible to extradite individuals from Australia in respect of the potential offences in question. However misguided, the telephone call was intended as a harmless prank,” he said.
“The consequences in this case were very sad. We send our sincere condolences to Jacintha Saldanha’s family.”
Last December, the pair, posing as the Queen and Prince of Wales, tricked Jacintha Saldanha into transferring the call to a colleague who then described Catherine’s condition in detail.
Jacintha Saldanha was found hanged in nurses accommodation close to the hospital, after apparently taking her own life.
Kate Middleton had been admitted to hospital suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, acute morning sickness.
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2Day FM’s Hot 30 programme, the Australian radio show that made the hoax call to the hospital treating pregnant Kate Middleton in December, has been cancelled.
2Day FM’s Hot 30 programme had been taken off air following the death of nurse Jacintha Saldana, who was found hanged after forwarding the call.
The broadcaster said a new show, hosted by a different DJ, would fill the slot.
Michael Christian and Mel Greig, the DJs who made the call, were still employed by the station, it added.
The pair have been on leave since the incident and a music-based show without a host DJ has been broadcast in their show’s place.
“We look forward to Mel and MC returning to work when the time is right, in roles that make full use of their talents,” said Rhys Holleran of Southern Cross Austereo, owner of 2Day FM.
“We will discuss future roles with them when they are ready.”
2Day FM’s Hot 30 programme, the Australian radio show that made the hoax call to the hospital treating pregnant Kate Middleton in December, has been cancelled
Kate Middleton was being treated at King Edward VII’s Hospital for an extreme form of morning sickness when Michael Christian and Mel Greig made their prank call pretending to be members of the Royal Family.
Jacintha Saldana answered the call and put them through to another nurse who gave an update on Kate Middleton’s condition.
Jacintha Saldana was found hanged at her home three days later.
Last month the Australian media watchdog launched a formal inquiry to examine whether any broadcasting rules had been breached.
2Day FM also pledged to give at least 500,000 Australian dollars from its advertising profits to the family of Jacintha Saldana.
Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who committed suicide after the royal hoax phone call, left a note telling the two Australian DJs behind the prank they were responsible for her death, according to sources close to the family.
In one of three apparent suicide notes, Jacintha Saldanha wrote a short letter in which she expressed her deep anger at radio presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian and blamed them for her tragic death.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found hanged with a scarf at her accommodation at the King Edward VII’s Hospital in London, where Kate Middleton was being treated for severe morning sickness.
It was revealed that one of the DJs telephoned the hospital back within an hour of the call and spoke to Jacintha Saldanha again, telling her they had played a prank which they were about to broadcast.
The revelation is believed to have left Jacintha Saldanha, who had no experience of dealing with the media, feeling confused and agitated.
DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian – who are believed to be at safe addresses following death threats – have apologized for the tragic repercussions of their prank. They pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles seeking information about Kate Middleton’s condition.
In another, one-page letter, Jacintha Saldanha criticized “aspects of the hospital staff”, and singled out two individuals for blame.
Although the hospital has repeatedly said no senior member of staff blamed Jacintha Saldanha for falling victim to the prank and provided her with support, it is understood she may have been reprimanded by colleagues by email.
Asked if Jacintha Saldanha received a “ticking-off” by senior colleagues, a family friend yesterday replied: “What do you think?”
The hospital has declined to comment on the notes, saying senior staff have not seen copies. It is believed the original notes are now in the possession of Scotland Yard, which has produced transcripts for the family.
Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who committed suicide after the royal hoax phone call, left a note telling the two Australian DJs behind the prank they were responsible for her death
Sources close to the family said their relationship with the hospital was strained as senior managers had not provided “facts” they have requested.
The hospital has so far not replied to several written questions the family handed to chief executive John Lofthouse at a meeting last Tuesday organized by senior Labour MP Keith Vaz. As a prominent Asian parliamentarian, Keith Vaz was approached by the family for help.
John Lofthouse was given the questions by Jacintha Saldanha’s husband Benedict Barboza, 49, an NHS accountant, their son Junal, 17, and daughter Lisha, 14. Yesterday, John Lofthouse attended a mass at Westminster Cathedral where prayers were said for Jacintha Saldanha. He was accompanied by other members of the hospital’s staff, many of whom were in tears.
One attendee said he overheard a hospital staff member tell the family: “I hope you get to the truth.”
Meanwhile, another friend of the family has revealed that Jacintha Saldanha may have tried to commit suicide more than once in the 72 hours between the prank and the moment her body was discovered by a colleague.
She may have attempted to slash her wrists before she died as a result of hanging herself with a scarf. The friend said: “She may have tried to kill herself more than once – that’s why there are three notes.”
An inquest on Friday was told police found marks on Jacintha Saldanha’s wrists.
Jacintha Saldanha usually called her family in Bristol every evening. But on the Thursday night following the hoax call in the early hours of Tuesday morning, she did not call or text her husband, leaving him concerned.
Benedict Barboza called the hospital early on Friday morning and asked a colleague to check on her. But apparently, the nurse failed to do that. Another colleague went to her room at 9:30 a.m. and found her body.
The news was broken to Benedict Barboza by police. At no point that day or subsequently did any member of the hospital staff visit the family to express their condolences, according to a family friend.
“They could have gone to break the news to the family but they didn’t do it,” the source added.
In her final letter, Jacintha Saldanha is believed to have asked to be buried in her home village of Shirwa, near Mangalore, in southern India.
The funeral will be held there on Monday. In a statement, the hospital said: “No one at the hospital has seen these notes so we cannot comment. However, we reiterate that Jacintha was an outstanding nurse… Hospital management offered her their support and told her they considered her the victim of a cruel hoax.
“They stood by her actions and made it clear there was no criticism of her and that there would be no disciplinary action of any kind.”
Mel Greig and Michael Christian, the Australian radio hosts at the centre of Kate Middleton hospital hoax, say they are “gutted and heartbroken” over the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha.
Jacintha Saldanha was found dead on Friday, three days after taking the hoax call.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian wept as they said “not a minute goes by where we don’t think about her family”.
They had pretended to be members of the Queen and Prince Charles asking about Kate Middleton, who was being treated in hospital for acute morning sickness.
In an interview for Channel Nine’s A Current Affair programme Michael Christian told presenter Tracy Grimshaw: “When we thought about making a call it was going to go for 30 seconds we were going to be hung up on, and that was it. As innocent as that.”
Mel Greig said: “We thought a hundred people before us would’ve tried it. We thought it was such a silly idea and the accents were terrible and not for a second did we expect to speak to Kate let alone have a conversation with anyone at the hospital. We wanted to be hung up on.”
The pair said they heard about Jacintha Saldanha’s death in the early hours of Saturday morning.
“It was the worst phone call I’ve ever had in my life,” said Mel Greig.
Asked what his immediate reaction had been, Michael Christian wept and said: “Shattered, gutted, heartbroken and obviously you know. Our deepest sympathies are with the family and the friends.”
Mel Greig said: “There’s not a minute that goes by where we don’t think about her family and what they must be going through, and the thought that we may have played a part in that is gut-wrenching.”
Michael Christian added: “Prank calls are made every day, on every radio station in every country, around the world and they have been for a long time and no-one could’ve imagined this to happen.”
They were also interviewed for Channel 7’s Today Tonight programme and Mel Greig said of the moment she heard of Jacintha Saldanha’s death: “Unfortunately I remember that moment very well because I haven’t stopped thinking about it since it happened and I remember my first question was <<Was she a mother?>>”
Mel Greig and Michael Christian say they are gutted and heartbroken over the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha
Michael Christian said there was “no malice” in the prank call and “no harm intended” to the nurses, to the duchess or to Prince William.
Mel Greig said they had expected to be hung up on and she said: “The accents were terrible. You know it was designed to be stupid. We were never meant to get that far from the little corgis barking in the background – we obviously wanted it to be a joke.
“If we played any involvement in her death then we’re very sorry for that. And time will only tell.”
Mel Greig said she would give evidence at the inquest if she was required and she played down questions about her and Michael Christian’s career.
Asked about whether she felt there was a “witch hunt” against them, she said: “There’s nothing that can make me feel worse than what I feel right now. And for what I feel for the family. We’re so sorry that this has happened to them.”
Kate Middleton was taken to King Edward VII Hospital in central London last Monday, suffering from an extreme form of morning sickness called hyperemesis gravidarum.
Jacintha Saldanha had answered the presenters’ call and, believing they were members of the Royal Family, put them through to another nurse, who described the Duchess of Cambridge’s condition in detail.
She was pronounced dead on Friday morning at staff accommodation close to the hospital. An inquest into Jacintha Saldanha’s apparent suicide is due to be opened in the next few days.
Earlier the presenters’ employer, Sydney radio station 2DayFM, said at least five attempts were made to obtain the permission of the two nurses involved before airing the call.
The radio station said it was going to review its broadcasting practices.
In an interview with a Melbourne radio station 3AW, Rhys Holleran – whose company Southern Cross Austereo owns 2DayFM – said his staff had tried several times to make contact with Jacintha Saldanha and another nurse at the King Edward VII’s Hospital to get their permission to use the prank conversation before it was transmitted.
Rhys Holleran said the death of Jacintha Saldanha was “tragic” and “regrettable”, but that it “could not have been foreseen”.
Some legal experts in Australia have said if the radio station did not tell the nurses they were being recorded, or received their permission to broadcast the conversation, they may be in breach of a number of laws.
Jacintha Saldanha’s husband, Ben Barboza, wrote on his Facebook page: “I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances.”
The family was being comforted by relatives and friends at their home in Bristol, where they were visited by Labour MP Keith Vaz on Sunday.
He said the family are “grief stricken and shocked” at Jacintha Saldanha’s death and were grateful to the hospital for establishing a memorial fund in her name.
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The death of Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who took a hoax call about the Duchess of Cambridge, was a “tragedy”, Australian 2Day FM radio station which broadcast it has said.
Rhys Holleran, chief executive of the company that owns Sydney radio station 2Day FM, said DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian were “completely shattered” by the death of Jacintha Saldanha, 46.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian posed as the Queen and Prince Charles in a call on Tuesday morning.
The station later suspended adverts, and the show has been taken off-air.
Speaking at a press conference in Melbourne, Rhys Holleran, chief executive of Southern Cross Austereo, said he did not think any laws had been broken.
This was in contrast to a statement on Tuesday by hospital chief executive John Lofthouse, who said he had “received advice that what the Australian broadcasters did may well have broken the law”.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian telephoned the hospital early on Tuesday morning, and recorded the call. It was then assessed by the station’s lawyers before being broadcast on 2Day FM.
Jacintha Saldanha, a duty nurse, answered the phone because it was 05:30 GMT and there was no receptionist on duty.
She put the pair through to Kate Middleton’s nurse, who unwittingly revealed details of the pregnant duchess’s medical condition.
The duchess had been admitted on Monday for acute morning sickness, and was discharged on Thursday.
Rhys Holleran told journalists that Mel Greig and Michael Christian’s show would not be returning until further notice.
He said: “This is a tragic event that could not have been reasonably foreseen and we are deeply saddened by it.”
But he added: “I think that prank calls as a craft in radio had been going on for decades. They are done worldwide and no-one could reasonably have foreseen what happened.”
The network later suspended all advertising on 2Day FM until Monday.
The decision was meant as a sign of respect, although with several advertisers, including Australia’s largest supermarket chain, already pulling their adverts, it was more like damage limitation and to avoid further bad publicity.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian are taken off air following Jacintha Saldanha’s death
Before the death, the country’s media watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, had received complaints about the broadcast. Chairman Chris Chapman said: “These events are a tragedy for all involved and I pass on my heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased nurse in London.
“The ACMA does not propose to make any comments at this stage, but will be engaging with the licensee, Today FM Sydney, around the facts and issues surrounding the prank call.”
In a statement, Jacintha Saldanha’s family said they were “deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Jacintha”. They have requested privacy from the media.
On Friday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said in a statement they were also “deeply saddened” by the death of Jacintha Saldanha, a duty nurse who was married with two children.
And King Edward VII hospital paid tribute to “a first-class nurse who cared diligently for hundreds of patients”.
Jacintha Saldanha – who was staying in hospital accommodation close to hospital – was the person who answered the call from the DJs and was not the nurse who discussed the duchess’s medical condition.
She had not been suspended or disciplined by the hospital.
However, she had felt “very lonely and confused” as a result of what had happened.
Jacintha Saldanha, also known as Jess, is thought to have come to the UK from southern India more than ten years ago and settled in the UK with her partner, 49-year-old hospital accountant Benedict Barboza.
The couple bought their £123,000 three-bedroomed home in 2005 in the Westbury-on-Trym district of Bristol.
After working for the North Bristol NHS Trust, which runs Frenchay and Southmead hospitals, it is believed the nurse chose to apply for a job at King Edward four years ago and appears to have been living in the nursing accommodation ever since.
She has a son called Junal, 16, and daughter, believed to be 14. She stayed in London when she was working before returning to her family on days off.
The St James’s Palace statement said the duke and duchess “were looked after so wonderfully well at all times by everybody at King Edward VII Hospital, and their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha’s family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time”.
A palace spokesman later added that “at no point did the palace complain to the hospital about the incident”.
“On the contrary, we offered our full and heartfelt support to the nurses involved and hospital staff at all times.”
Scotland Yard said officers were called at 09:35 GMT on Friday after reports of a woman found unconscious at an address in Weymouth Street, central London. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious.
King Edward VII hospital, which is treating Kate Middleton, has released private details about her condition to two prank callers from Australian radio station 2Day FM.
The King Edward VII Hospital in central London has launched an investigation into the extraordinary stunt by Mel Greig and Michael Christian – and St James’s Palace is understood to be furious at what happened.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles to obtain intimate medical information about pregnant Kate Middleton, who is suffering from acute morning sickness.
The transcript in full:
Receptionist: Hello, good morning, King Edward VII Hospital
Female presenter (Mel Greig, impersonating the Queen): Oh, hello there. Could I please speak to Kate please, my granddaughter?
Receptionist: Oh yes, just hold on ma’am
Male presenter (Michael Christian, impersonating Prince Charles): Are they putting us through?
Greig: Yes
Christian: If this has worked it is the easiest prank call we have ever made. Your accent sucked by the way, I just want you to know
[Both laughing]
Greig: I’m not used to playing old an 80-year-old
[Phone picked up]
Greig: Kate, my darling. Are you there?
Nurse: Good morning ma’am, this is the nurse speaking, how may I help you?
Greig: I’m just after my granddaughter Kate. I want to see how her little tummy bug is going?
Nurse: She’s sleeping at the moment and she has had an uneventful night. And sleep is good for her. She’s been given some fluids [part removed due to patient confidentiality]. She’s stable at the moment.
[Part removed due to patient confidentiality]
Mel Greig and Michael Christian pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles to obtain intimate medical information about pregnant Kate Middleton
Greig: I’ll just feed my little corgis then. When is a good time to come and visit her, because I’m the Queen and I need a lift down there?
[In background: Mummy, mummy]
Charles! When can you take me to the hospital, Charles?
Christian: When will it be alright to come down and see her? Maybe in the morning or something if that’s OK?
Nurse: I would suggest that any time after nine o’clock would be suitable because the doctor will be in the morning and will just be getting her freshened up. I would think any time after nine.
Christian: Is Wills still there or has he gone home? I haven’t spoken to him yet.
Nurse: He went home probably at about nine o’clock last night, to be fair.
Christian: Lovely, but are they all ok? Everything is alright?
Nurse: [Removed due to confidentiality]
Christian: Of course, it’s hardly the palace is it?
Greig: It’s nothing like the palace, is it Charles? When are you going to walk those bloody corgis?
Christian: Mummy, I’ll go and take the dogs outside.
Greig: I need to go visit Kate in the morning. My dear, thank you so much!
Nurse: You are very welcome
Greig: Goodbye!
Nurse: Goodbye!
[Both presenters burst into laughter]
Greig: She was giving real information.
Christian: Mummy I think they just believed everything we just said.
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A hoax call from Australian radio station 2Day FM presenters, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles, has been made to King Edward VII hospital where Kate Middleton is being treated for morning sickness.
King Edward VII hospital in London said a nurse had discussed the Duchess of Cambridge’s condition with an Australian radio station and deplored the “foolish prank”.
Hospital’s chief executive said confidentiality was taken seriously and telephone protocols are under review.
Two radio presenters, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, last night tricked staff at the Duchess of Cambridge’s hospital into giving a full update on her condition.
In an extraordinary stunt that provoked fury, the Australian 2Day FM presenters impersonated the Queen and Prince Charles and found themselves talking to pregnant Kate’s private nurse.
A nurse tells Mel Greig and Michael Christian that the Duchess is about to be “freshened up”, saying: “She’s sleeping at the moment and she has had an uneventful night.
“She’s been given some fluids, she’s stable at the moment.”
Australian 2Day FM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian impersonated the Queen and Prince Charles and found themselves talking to pregnant Kate Middleton’s private nurse
King Edward VII Hospital in central London today verified that the call was genuine but criticized it as “a foolish prank call that we all deplore”. The stunt triggered global outrage.
The presenters started the show by claiming they have the phone number of the King Edward VII Hospital and call it, claiming they want to “speak to Kate”.
It came as Prince William left his wife’s beside last night after a six-hour vigil and for the first time in more than 24 hours finally felt able to offer a smile.
Kate Middleton was said to be feeling better, but will continue to receive treatment for the next few days.
The Duchess has been on a drip in hospital after being admitted on Monday with an acute – and potentially dangerous – form of morning sickness.
St James’s Palace said yesterday: “The Duchess of Cambridge is continuing to feel better. She and the duke are immensely grateful for the good wishes they have received.
“She will remain in hospital at present and will continue to be treated for hyperemesis gravidarum.”
In spite of William’s obvious concern, the couple may be forced to spend the first months of Kate’s pregnancy apart if her medical condition does not improve.
The condition that the duchess, who is believed to be only eight weeks pregnant, has been diagnosed with can last for the first five months of pregnancy – sometimes even for the entire duration.
It may require regular hospital treatment because it can lead to severe dehydration, putting mother and baby at risk.
A spokesman for Prince William and Kate Middleton said he would be making no comment on the prank.
