TV regulator has dismissed more than 50,000 complaints against ITV's Good Morning Britain for Piers Morgan's comments about Meghan Markle earlier this year.
In the March 8 episode of the breakfast show, Morgan tore into the Duchess of Sussex for a "tell-all" interview she had given with Oprah Winfey alongside husband Prince Harry, in which a number of serious claims were made by the couple about the behaviour of the Royal Family.
The presenter made it clear that he did not believe Markle's allegations, and after refusing ITV's request to make an on-air apology, he quit the show the next day.
Ofcom went on to receive the most complaints in its history - including a complaint from Markle herself - but in a ruling today the regulator went in favour of Morgan and ITV, arguing that to do otherwise would set a "chilling" precedent for press freedom.
"Ofcom is clear that, 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," Ofcom concluded in a 26-page report.
"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."
Morgan strongly welcomed the verdict, writing in his column for the Daily Mail: "It was preposterous that I had to leave a job I loved because I didn't believe a demonstrable liar. But it happened because the corporate world has been cowed into surrendering to the woke mob whenever it bays for blood.
"I was reliably informed recently that Meghan Markle wrote directly to my ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall the night before I was forced out, demanding my head on a plate. Apparently, she stressed that she was writing to Dame Carolyn personally because they were both women and mothers – a nauseating playing of the gender and maternity card if ever there was one.
"What has the world come to when a whiny fork-tongued actress can dictate who presents a morning television news programme?"
Morgan recently revealed that he will be making a TV comeback "soon" but ruled out a possible return to GMB.
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