Australian DJs in the clear over duchess prank
British authorities have dropped a criminal investigation into the Australian DJs who made a prank call to the hospital treating Catherine, Duchess Of Cambridge last year (12).
Mel Greig and Michael Christian, of Sydney station 2Day FM, duped staff at the King Edward VII's Hospital in London by pretending to be members of Britain's royal family to gain information about Catherine's condition while she was being treated for severe morning sickness.
The nurse who took the call, Jacintha Saldanha, was found dead
three days later in a suspected suicide, prompting a probe into the
incident.
However, British authorities have now confirmed the two DJs will
not face criminal prosecution over the call as there is not enough
evidence to support a manslaughter charge.
Officials at the U.K.'s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have
revealed there is evidence to warrant further investigation of
other less serious offences, but that will not go ahead because
they couldn't support the DJs' extradition from Australia on more
minor offences.
Malcolm McHaffie, deputy head of special crime at the CPS, says,
"It is not possible to extradite individuals from Australia in
respect of the potential offences in question. However misguided,
the telephone call was intended as a harmless prank. The
consequences in this case were very sad. We send our sincere
condolences to Jacintha Saldanha's family."
The news comes just days after Greig and Christian's Hot 30 radio
show was officially axed by bosses at 2Day FM. The show was taken
off air in the aftermath of the prank, and the hosts have yet to
return to the airwaves.