British broadcaster and journalist, Piers Morgan, has called on Earl Spencer, brother of late Princess Diana, to withdraw his memoir about her after admitting to a factual error involving Morgan.
Spencer apologised to Morgan after incorrectly identifying him in the book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, as the editor of the Daily Mirror when photographs of Diana working out at a gym were published by the Sunday Mirror in 1993.
Morgan, who was working at The Sun at the time, did not become editor of the Mirror until 1995.
Speaking to the BBC, Morgan said he accepted Spencer’s apology but wanted the pages containing the error removed from the book.
He said, “laying out that we want the offending pages to be removed from this book. And if that means they pulp the first edition, so be it”.
The BBC reported that Penguin, publisher of the memoir, would amend the disputed section in future editions.
The photographs referenced in Spencer’s book were published by the Sunday Mirror on November 7, 1993, and were taken using hidden cameras at a gym where Diana exercised.
In the memoir, Spencer described a conversation with Morgan concerning his sister’s funeral and wrote, “The only one who sounded surly, as opposed to merely confused or embarrassed, was Piers Morgan of the Mirror, who snarled with annoyance before he hung up.”
He added, “I assumed Morgan must be feeling particular guilt because, four years earlier, he and his Sunday Mirror counterpart had published photographs taken with hidden cameras by a gym owner. They were of Diana working out in a leotard.”
Spencer’s spokesperson said the account of his conversation with Morgan was accurate but acknowledged that his assumption about Morgan’s role at the Mirror at the time of the photographs was wrong.
“Earl Spencer’s account of his conversation with Piers Morgan is accurate. Mr Morgan was surly and annoyed when Earl Spencer called personally to tell him that he was not welcome at his sister’s funeral,” the spokesperson said.
The statement added, “as an 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”.
Morgan later told the BBC, “He’s a historian. He should want it removed from the shelves. Why, if you’re doing this for historical record, would you want such a completely untrue series of claims over several pages about a public figure to still be in that book?”
He continued, “Now you’ve admitted it’s untrue and apologised. He should pull the book.”
Morgan also said on social media that he was “pursuing legal action against him and his publisher Penguin to have the lies removed, and damages paid to the King’s Trust”.
The memoir, which was released on September 22, has generated controversy over several claims concerning Diana and members of the Royal Family.
Among the claims is that King Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales, said “we’ll forget her soon enough” during a disagreement over whether Princes William and Harry should walk in Diana’s funeral procession.
Buckingham Palace disputed the account, saying the pain of grief can affect memory and judgement years after an event.
