Leveson inquiry: Piers Morgan denies phone-hacking knowledge

Piers Morgan, the former News of the World and Daily Mirror editor, has repeatedly denied to the Leveson inquiry that he had any personal knowledge of or involvement in phone hacking or any other illegal practices at either paper. Morgan, appearing live by satellite link from the US, where he hosts a nightly talkshow for CNN, was questioned by inquiry counsel, Robert Jay QC, on Tuesday about comments he has made in several interviews about phone hacking and other "dark arts" of journalism, including the use of private investigators to obtain personal information and using material gathered from going through people's bins. Morgan edited the News of the World for about 18 months in 1994 and 1995, more than a decade before the paper's royal editor, Clive Goodman, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator employed by the now defunct News International title, were pleaded guilty and were jailed for intercepting voicemail messages. He edited the Daily Mirror from 1995 until 2004. He said he first became aware of phone hacking in January 2001, as recorded in his book The Insider. Morgan has always denied any direct knowledge of or involvement in phone-hacking. In sometimes tense exchanges with Jay, Morgan said he did not believe he had ever listened to a phone-hacked voicemail message. Asked by Jay whether he was aware of any phone hacking at the Daily Mirror before he left in 2004, he replied: "To the best of my recollection, I do not believe so." Jay also asked Morgan about a 2007 Press Gazette interview in which he said Goodman was a "fall guy" and suggested phone-hacking had been widespread at a number of national papers. Morgan replied that this was just the "Fleet Street rumour mill" at the time – "which is always very noisy and not always particularly accurate". Jay also put it to Morgan that the rumour mill suggested Daily Mirror journalists were among those involved in phone hacking. "Not a single person has made any formal complaint against the Daily Mirror [about phone hacking], not one," he responded. Morgan was also asked by Jay about whether he was aware while he was editor of the paper that 45 Daily Mirror journalists had used private investigator Steve Whittamore to find private information, possibly illegally. "I'm not aware of any of the specifics. But I'm also not aware that any of those journalists were ever arrested," he replied. Morgan added that Daily Mirror journalists were obliged under their contracts to work within the law and the only possible exception to this was if they were pursuing a story that had a public interest defence. "I would say the average editor is probably aware of about 5% of what their journalists are up to at any given time, across all newspapers," he said. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook .