Piers Morgan has called for Earl Spencer’s book about Princess Diana to be pulled from the shelves over a factual error.
Earl Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, apologised to Morgan for incorrectly describing him in the memoir as the editor of the Daily Mirror when the Mirror Group published “highly intrusive photographs of Princess Diana at the gym” in 1993.
Speaking to the BBC, Morgan said he accepted the apology but that his lawyers would be “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 understands Penguin, the publishers of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, will be amending this one point in future editions of the book.
The photographs of Princess Diana mentioned in relation to Morgan in Earl Spencer’s book were published by the Sunday Mirror on 7 November 1993.
At the time, Morgan was working at The Sun and did not join the Mirror as its editor until 1995.
Earl Spencer admitted “his assumption was incorrect” and “apologises to Mr Morgan for this error”, a statement said.
On his YouTube show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, Morgan read out a section of the book – which was published on 22 September – in which Earl Spencer wrote: “They realised they were unable to be rude to the brother of the much-mourned princess…
“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.
“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.
“This was such an intolerable invasion of her privacy that Diana instructed lawyers to sue the Mirror Group and to block further use of the images.”
A spokesperson for Princess Diana’s brother said in a statement that “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 statement admitted the factual error, and said that “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.”
Speaking to the BBC, Morgan said: “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.
“Now you’ve admitted it’s untrue and apologised. He should pull the book.”
In a post on social media on Tuesday, Morgan said he was “pursuing legal action against him and his publisher Penguin to have the lies removed, and damages paid to the King’s Trust”.
