Piers Morgan still suing Earl Spencer over Diana book despite apology
Earl Spencer has apologised for wrongly saying Piers Morgan edited the Daily Mirror when intrusive Diana gym photos were published, but Morgan is still suing and wants the book pulled or corrected.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Earl Spencer has apologised to Piers Morgan after his new book about Princess Diana wrongly claimed that Morgan was editor of the Daily Mirror when the Mirror Group published covert photographs of Diana at a gym in 1993. The book, Swan Song, went on sale today. The error concerned a passage about the invasive photographs, which were taken with hidden cameras by a gym owner and published by Mirror titles. Morgan was working at the Sun at the time and did not join the Daily Mirror until 1995.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Earl Spencer said: 'As a historian, accuracy is important to Earl Spencer. He therefore wishes to clarify that his assumption was incorrect. Earl Spencer apologises to Mr Morgan for this error.' The publisher, Penguin Michael Joseph, says the point will be amended in future editions. The BBC understands there are no plans to pulp copies already printed.
Piers Morgan has said the apology is not enough. He is continuing with legal action and wants the offending pages removed from the book. He has called for the first edition to be pulped, saying the book contains a defamatory lie about him. He says any damages he secures will go to the King's Trust, King Charles's charity. Morgan also said the photographs led to the Mirror paying more than £1m to Diana and that Spencer wrongly pinned responsibility for the episode on him.
Morgan also disputes another passage in the book. Earl Spencer wrote that when he called newspaper editors to disinvite them from Diana's funeral, Morgan was surly and snarled with annoyance. Morgan says this is false and points to a contemporaneous note published in his 2005 diaries, The Insider. He argues the error and the disputed phone call undermine Earl Spencer's credibility, including his claim that King Charles was giddy with excitement like a lottery winner after Diana's death.
Earl Spencer's spokesperson said he had nothing further to add after Morgan's comments. Penguin Michael Joseph has been asked whether it will pulp remaining copies, and has not responded publicly. The row has overshadowed publication day. Prince William and Prince Harry were both asked about the book at public events and gave no response.
Media lawyers say pulping a book is unlikely. Mark Stephens, a media lawyer, told the BBC that Morgan has already won prominent vindication through the apology and coverage. He said Morgan would probably get damages of around £20,000 to £30,000 and an erratum slip, with future editions and the audiobook amended. He noted that US law would not require the same amendment because Morgan is a public figure there.
The book, which also contains allegations about the royal family, has been the subject of days of coverage. Its publication has led to an unusual public dispute between Earl Spencer and Buckingham Palace. The latest development leaves the book on sale while legal action continues.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Spencer apologised to Piers Morgan over a factual error in his book about Princess Diana, saying accuracy mattered to him as a historian and his assumption about Morgan was incorrect. | · | |||||
| Piers Morgan argued the admitted error undermined the credibility of the rest of the book, including Earl Spencer's claims about King Charles. | · | |||||
| Piers Morgan reportedly threatened to sue Earl Spencer over claims in Spencer's book about Princess Diana and said the book contained factual errors about his conduct as editor of The Mirror. | · | |||||
| Covert 1993 photographs of Diana were taken in a gym and were published by the Sunday Mirror or Mirror Group. | · | · | ||||
| Earl Spencer's book claimed that Piers Morgan was Daily Mirror editor or in charge when covert gym photos of Diana were published in 1993; reports said Morgan did not hold that role until two years later. | · | · | ||||
| Piers Morgan disputed Earl Spencer's account of a phone call about disinviting newspaper editors from Diana's funeral and cited his published diaries as a contemporaneous record. | · | · | ||||
| The publisher will amend future editions of the book. | · | · | ||||
| Sky News reported legal analysis that whether the book is pulped would be decided by courts, damages could be awarded if defamation was found, and a correction slip might be more likely than pulping. | · | · | · | |||
| Earl Spencer repeated his claim that Piers Morgan was surly and arrogant or snarled during a call about being disinvited from Diana's funeral. | · | · | · | · | ||
| Piers Morgan said any damages from the litigation would go to the King's Trust. | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Prince William did not comment on his uncle's book, matching Prince Harry's response the previous day. | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Prince William was heckled earlier in the day. | · | · | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This short lunchtime bulletin gave the story only a brief headline mention, focusing on Piers Morgan's threat to sue Earl Spencer over factual errors about his time at the Mirror. It did not carry the apology detail or the publisher's response, and then moved on to other news.
- “Piers Morgan is threatening to sue Earl Spencer over claims he's made in his book about his late sister Diana, Princess of Wales.”
- “The broadcaster said the book contained factual errors concerning his conduct when he was editor of The Mirror.”
This programme gave the story a fuller treatment, including the apology, the Mirror timeline, and a long interview with Piers Morgan. It focused on Morgan's legal threat, his demand that offending pages be removed, and his attack on Earl Spencer's credibility over phone calls. It also carried Earl Spencer's line that he had made a small error that would be fixed in the second edition.
- “I'm very happy to acknowledge I made a small error and I've apologised and it will be put right in the second edition, but that's it.”
- “They've got to remove it from the book.”
- “I made a contemporaneous note of this at the time.”
The BBC's evening report framed the apology as a credibility problem for Earl Spencer and led on Piers Morgan's demand that Penguin remove the book from shelves. It set out the exact Mirror timeline and included Morgan's claim that the phone call account was another lie. It also noted the row had overshadowed Prince William's and Prince Harry's public events.
- “Earl Spencer apologises to Mr Morgan for this error.”
- “we want the offending pages to be removed from this book and if that means they pulp the first edition, so be it.”
- “His account of the phone conversation we had is another lie and it goes to the heart of his credibility”
ITV's evening bulletin treated the apology as an embarrassment on publication day and gave detailed context about the 1993 gym photographs and the funeral phone call. It highlighted Piers Morgan's argument that the error undermines the whole book and noted that Prince William and Prince Harry both refused to comment. The tone was measured but focused on the damage to Earl Spencer's historical claims.
- “Earl Spencer has been forced to issue an apology to Piers Morgan, just hours after his controversial new book about Britain says Diana went on general sale.”
- “But Piers Morgan was not working for the Mirror at the time.”
- “he's the one who's come out attacking the King”
This Sky panel programme used the story for legal and media debate, asking whether the book should be pulped and how much the apology helps Piers Morgan. It included Morgan's interview with Mark Austin and a discussion that called the row undignified, while treating Morgan's legal threat as a way to question Earl Spencer's broader claims about King Charles.
- “Well, we are going ahead with the legal action Despite his apology apologies fine, if he wants to apologize fine, I don't care either way”
- “What I care about is that this book does not go on sale Containing this defamatory lie”
- “I think pulping the whole book on the back of it He's made an apology. I think that's probably gonna be enough.”
This later BBC bulletin repeated the main apology and legal action lines and added a stronger clip of Piers Morgan saying he was defamed. It stressed that the publisher would amend future editions but Morgan was not satisfied and was taking legal action. It also noted Earl Spencer doubled down on the funeral phone call claim and that the row followed both royal brothers' public events.
- “The broadcast Piers Morgan says that Earl Spencer's new book published today about Princess Diana Contains defamatory lies about him and he's demanding that the publisher Penguin remove it from bookshops”
- “He defamed me it had nothing to do with me”
- “This book has gone on sale today. You want it removed from the shelves? Yeah, he's a historian. He should want it removed from the shelves now.”
The late ITV bulletin led with the embarrassment for Earl Spencer and Piers Morgan's demand that all printed copies be pulped. It explained the disputed gym photos and the funeral phone call, then contrasted the row with the silence of Diana's sons. Its framing was strongly on Morgan's side, calling the apology embarrassing and highlighting his anger.
- “The Earl had to make a frankly embarrassing apology to the former newspaper editor turned broadcaster Piers Morgan.”
- “I'm spitting blood about this, I mean he's made an egregious defamatory series of claims about me.”
- “As hard as it might have been, Charles Spencer this afternoon issued an apology.”
GB News turned the story into an opinionated late-night discussion, mocking Earl Spencer and framing the book as Pulp Fiction. It sided with Piers Morgan, argued the error undermines the whole book, and raised the political fallout for the royal family, including a heckle of Prince William. It also reported Morgan's decision, first made to GB News, to keep pursuing damages.
- “Now, Earl Spencer claims to be an historian and yet here he is historically disastrously wrong by publishing a seriously defamatory lie about me.”
- “Pulp Fiction is the Earl Spencer's book and I have to go in the bin.”
- “Earl Spencer somehow got everybody in Britain to be on Piers Morgan's side”
This rolling news segment carried Piers Morgan's interview with Mark Austin and focused on his refusal to drop legal action despite the apology. It also included his detailed rebuttal of the funeral phone call account and noted that Earl Spencer would make no further comment. The programme asked Penguin Michael Joseph about pulping the book.
- “Well, we are going ahead with the legal action, despite his apology.”
- “What I care about is that this book does not go on sale containing this defamatory lie.”
- “His spokesperson said he will be making no further comment.”
The morning bulletin reported the legal action and apology in a straight news clip, then moved on to other stories. It highlighted Earl Spencer's admission that he was wrong about Morgan being the Daily Mirror editor when the covert photos were published, and noted Morgan's refusal to drop his lawsuit.
- “Piers Morgan has told Sky News he still intends to sue Earl Spencer despite receiving an apology”
- “Earl Spencer admitted to making an error when he wrote that the broadcaster was the Daily Mirror's editor when it published pictures of Diana taken without her consent.”
- “Well, we are going ahead with the legal action, despite his apology.”
The Media Show approached the story as a media law and publishing case, asking whether a book can be pulped and how corrections are handled. It explained Penguin's plan to amend future editions and heard a lawyer say Morgan has already achieved strong vindication, so damages and an erratum slip are more likely than pulping. It also examined the different US legal position.
- “Yeah, fine, I accept your apology. But I'm afraid you'll be hearing from our lawyers today.”
- “The publisher in the middle of this is Penguin. The BBC understands that it plans to amend this one point in future editions of the book.”
- “he will get some measure of damages, probably 20, maybe at the top end, about 30,000, and his legal costs. But he will also get an erratum slip.”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 04:41 BST
“I'm very happy to acknowledge I made a small error and I've apologised and it will be put right in the second edition.”
The Media Show · Sat 26 Sept - 04:41 BST
Piers Morgan, broadcaster
“Yeah, fine, I accept your apology. But I'm afraid you'll be hearing from our lawyers today.”
The Media Show · Sat 26 Sept - 04:42 BST
Mark Stephens, media lawyer at Howard Kennedy
“Mark Stephens, who's a media lawyer at Howard Kennedy”
The Media Show · Sat 26 Sept
- 02:11 BST
Piers Morgan, former tabloid editor and broadcaster
“Well, we are going ahead with the legal action, despite his apology.”
Sky News · Wed 23 Sept - 02:25 BST
Merseyside Fire and Rescue, Merseyside Fire and Rescue
“Merseyside Fire and Rescue says a number of crews were called to a house in Bootle”
Sky News · Wed 23 Sept - 06:19 BST
Piers Morgan, broadcaster
“Well, we are going ahead with the legal action, despite his apology.”
Mornings · Wed 23 Sept
- 17:21 BST
Earl Spencer, Princess Diana's brother
“I'm very happy to acknowledge I made a small error”
5 News with Dan Walker · Wed 23 Sept - 17:22 BST
“Because it's not a small error and I'll explain why.”
5 News with Dan Walker · Wed 23 Sept
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.