Australian DJs Behind The Kate Middleton Hoax Phone Call Will Not Face Legal Action For The Aftermath Of Their Call

Australian DJs Behind The Kate Middleton Hoax Phone Call Will Not Face Legal Action For The Aftermath Of Their Call

The two Australian DJs who made a hoax phone call to the London hospital treating the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton last year will not face any legal action, the Crown Prosecution Service said today (Feb 1).

The DJs, Michael Christian and Mel Greig, made a prank phone call to the King Edward VII hospital in London late last year pretending to be Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Phillp, with their call being answered by nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who then put the two through to one of her superiors. The mother and wife was later found dead near the hospital after taking her own life following the furore over the on-air prank in December.

Prosecutors had at first considered charging the pair with manslaughter but a lack of evidence linking the two directly to Saldanha's death made the case a non-mover. Any further prosecution has also been ruled out after prosecutors also ruled that no public interest would arise from it. In an official statement released today, Malcolm McHaffie, the CPS’s deputy head of special crime, said: "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."

Greig and Christian have since been axed from their posts on 2Day FM and issued tearful apologies for their actions. It has also been said that the two sought psychological help following the aftermath of the incident to cope with the trauma bestowed on themselves from inadvertently causing such a tragedy.