Radio prankster apologises after nurse's suicide verdict at inquest
A DJ who made a hoax call to a hospital caring for the Duchess of Cambridge broke down in tears today as she apologised to the family of a nurse who committed suicide after it was broadcast.
Australian Melanie Greig posed as the Queen during the call in which private medical information about the pregnant Kate was disclosed in December 2012.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, who took the call, hanged herself three days later.
Addressing the inquest after Mrs Saldanha’s death was ruled a suicide, Ms Greig told her family: “I really just wanted to say I am truly sorry, I’ve wanted to say that for so long.
“This tragedy will always stay with me and serve as a constant reminder.”
Indian-born Mrs Saldanha was found dead in nursing accommodation after Greig and fellow shock-jock Michael Christian broadcast the call on Sydney's 2Day Fm.
She passed them on to a nurse who revealed details of Kate’s condition as she was being treated for severe morning sickness at the King Edward VII’s Hospital in London.
Making the suicide ruling, coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said: “There is evidence that in the days before her death the hoax call and her difficulties with a colleague had been pressing on her mind.”
She did not criticise the DJs or the radio station but, addressing four calls made to the hospital by production staff to gain Mrs Saldanha’s consent before the recording aired, added: “If she did take these calls I find it inconceivable she would have consented, as a participant in the call, to its broadcast.”
