Piers Morgan has decided to leave Good Morning Britain, ITV has said.
The presenter stormed off the set of the news programme on Tuesday following a heated discussion with his colleague, Alex Beresford, about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s TV interview with Oprah Winfrey.
A statement from ITV said: “Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain.
“ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add.”
Shortly before the announcement was made, Morgan tweeted an image of a ticking grandfather clock.
Thinking of my late, great manager John Ferriter tonight. He’d have told me to do exactly the same thing. @GMB #TrustYourGut pic.twitter.com/QxPngw9Rgu
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 9, 2021
In a tweet on Tuesday night, Morgan responded to his departure and suggested he had no regrets.
He posted a picture of himself with his late manager, John Ferriter, and said: “He’d have told me to do exactly the same thing. @GMB”
Morgan added the hashtag #TrustYourGut.
During Tuesday’s programme, weather presenter Beresford defended Harry and Meghan during his discussion with Morgan.
He took Morgan to task, saying: “I understand you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle, or had one, and she cut you off.
“She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has but yet you continue to trash her.”
Ofcom also announced on Tuesday it was investigating comments Morgan made about the interview.
The watchdog received more than 41,000 complaints about his remarks on Monday during Good Morning Britain.
After a clip aired of Meghan discussing her issues with mental health and suicidal thoughts and royal officials’ knowledge of them, Morgan said during Monday’s programme: “I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word she says.
“I wouldn’t believe her if she read me a weather report.”
Morgan added she had sparked an “onslaught” against the royal family.
His comments were criticised by the mental health charity Mind.
The organisation previously said in a tweet it was “disappointed and concerned” by Morgan’s comments, adding: “It’s vital that, when people reach out for support or share their experiences of ill mental health, they are treated with dignity, respect and empathy.”
During Tuesday’s programme, Morgan addressed his comments about Meghan’s mental health.
He said: “When we talked about this yesterday, I said as an all-encompassing thing I don’t believe what Meghan Markle is saying generally in this interview, and I still have serious concerns about the veracity of a lot of what she said.
“But let me just state on the record my position about mental illness and on suicide. These are clearly extremely serious things that should be taken extremely seriously, and if someone is feeling that way they should get the treatment and help they need every time.”
Speaking on BBC’s The One Show Lorraine Kelly, Morgan’s ITV colleague, said: “It’s certainly going to be quieter.
“We all wish him well. We all wish him absolutely all the best. Like I say, it will be calmer.”
Former footballer and Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker tweeted a message of support to Morgan.
“Whether it’s a football manager, a television presenter or any profession for that matter, it’s always sad when someone loses their job,” Lineker said.
Sharon Osbourne joined the chorus of celebrity voices reacting on social media to Morgan’s departure.
“@piersmorgan I am with you. I stand by you,” she tweeted.
“People forget that you’re paid for your opinion and that you’re just speaking your truth.”
Harry and Meghan, now living in the US, made a number of explosive revelations in their interview, among them an allegation that a member of the family – not the Queen or Duke of Edinburgh – had made a racist comment about their unborn son, Archie.
During the interview, which first aired in the US and was broadcast on ITV on Monday night, Meghan spoke openly about her mental health, telling Winfrey she had experienced suicidal thoughts and had asked to go somewhere to get help, but was told it would not look good by one of the most senior people in the institution.
A statement issued by Buckingham Palace on behalf of the Queen on Tuesday said the royal family was “saddened” by the revelations made in the interview and the issues raised around race were “concerning”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here