Piers Morgan gloats after Ofcom ruling as he claims he might ‘storm back in’ to Good Morning Britain

ITV was cleared by watchdog over presenter’s controversial Meghan Markle comments

Piers Morgan has been celebrating, with a relentless barrage of tweets, after ITV was cleared by Ofcom over his comments about Meghan Markle on Good Morning Britain.

The presenter attracted widespread criticism in March for remarks he made following Meghan and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Morgan said he “didn’t believe a word” the duchess said about struggling with suicidal thoughts and disputed her account of allegedly experiencing racism during her time as a senior royal.

His on-air outburst prompted a record number of 57,121 Ofcom complaints – the highest number in the TV regulator’s history – and led to his exit from GMB.

But Ofcom ruled on Wednesday (1 September) that Morgan’s behaviour did not break its broadcasting code.

Gloating about the news on his Twitter account, Morgan posted pictures of the papers’ front pages with smiling sunglasses emojis.

He also wrote “Maybe I should just storm back in…” in response to a report about ITV ruling out his return to GMB.

Morgan shared his latest column for the Daily Mail, too, writing in the caption: “Ofcom’s vindication of me is a resounding victory for freedom of speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios who think we should all be compelled to believe every fork-tongued word they say.”

Ofcom said that ITV had “provided adequate protection to viewers from potentially harmful and highly offensive statements about mental health and suicide”.

Its conclusion read: “Consistent with freedom of expression, Mr Morgan was entitled to say he disbelieved the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s allegations and to hold and express strong views that rigorously challenged their account.

“The code allows for individuals to express strongly held and robustly argued views, including those that are potentially harmful or highly offensive, and for broadcasters to include these in their programming. The restriction of such views would, in our view, be an unwarranted and chilling restriction on freedom of expression both of the broadcaster and the audience.”