Did Heather leak her own voicemail of Macca please?
Paul McCartney's ex-wife Heather Mills may have leaked her own private voicemail messages to a newspaper, Britain's hacking inquiry has been told.
Former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan was quizzed by the Leveson Inquiry about an article he wrote in 2006 detailing a "heartbreaking" message left by the former Beatle for his then wife.
Mr Morgan repeatedly refused to disclose the source of the recording, prompting inquiry chairman Lord Juststice Leveson to suggest calling "the lady in question" to get to the bottom of the matter.
Mr Morgan, speaking by video link from the US, said it had been "stated as a fact" that Ms Mills recorded their conver-sations and had given them to the media.
He added that he "did not believe" he had listened to illegally obtained voice messages. Mr Morgan, who was editor of the News Of The World and the Daily Mirror, told the inquiry that "ethical considerations" were "interwoven" into his work.
He said he was unaware of any phone hacking at the Daily Mirror under his leadership -- and had "no reason" to believe that hacking was going on.
Mr Morgan told inquiry chairman Lord Justice Leveson that he had listened to a voicemail message left for Ms Mills.
He repeatedly refused to disclose the "source" of the message. But he said McCartney had "stated as a fact" that "Lady Heather Mills McCartney" had recorded conversations and given them to journalists.
Mr Morgan, who is based in America and hosts a CNN show, said he had "little sympathy" with "celebrities who sell their weddings for a million pounds".
hnews@herald.ie
- Neil Lancefield
