CNN host Piers Morgan told a U.K. inquiry today that he was "not aware" of the 45 journalists on The Daily Mirror, the London tabloid he used to edit, who were identified in an inquiry into the hacking of celebrities' phones.
He also said he was "never directly involved" in the use of private detectives at The Mirror or The News of the World, the other paper he was editor of, to gather information on celebrities.
Most mysteriously, he declined to say how he got an infamous scoop about the divorce of Paul McCartney which based on his listening to a recording of Heather Mills' voicemail.
The McCartney-Mills divorce story, which he retold in 2006, was based on Morgan's claim that he heard McCartney pleading with Mills on her voicemail to come back to him and repair their marriage. When asked how he was able to listen to the tape, given that the only legal possessor of it could be Mills, he replied:
"I listened to a tape of a message yes, I believe it was yes. I'm not going to discuss where I heard it or who played it to me."
The McCartney story is only one of at least 10 ways that Morgan has been linked to the inquiry.
Morgan was largely monosyllabic, and slightly petulant, as he sat under the lights at the Leveson Inquiry into illegal phone hacking, answering questions from Robert Jay QC, counsel for the inquiry. When asked about what private detectives were used for he replied:
"I don't know. Because I was never directly involved, this was dealt with through the news desk or features desk ... Certainly all journalists knew they had to act within the confines of the law. This was enshrined within their contracts; I didn't have concerns."
Similarly, Jay said that 45 named journalists on the Daily Mirror were identified by the U.K. information commissioner in the Operation Motorman report into hacking. When asked about his knowledge of those employees, Morgan said:
"I am not aware that any of those journalists were arrested, charged or convicted of anything. He may well have had a view of those journalists and the paper may have had a different view …"
Near the end of his testimony, Morgan launched into a combative speech about how little celebrities deserve privacy:
"I have very little sympathy for celebrities who sell their weddings for 1 million pounds, one of the most private days of their lives … they are the very last people who should be protected by privacy law."
SEE ALSO: Here Are All The Ways Piers Morgan Of CNN Is Linked To The Phone Hacking Scandal
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