Piers Morgan speaks out as Good Morning Britain airs without him, doubles down on Meghan Markle comments

Presenter said he ‘still’ does not believe Meghan Markle in the Oprah interview

Piers Morgan has spoken out following his exit from Good Morning Britain.

It was announced by ITV yesterday evening (9 March) that Morgan would be stepping down from his role as co-anchor of the hit morning show after six years.

The decision follows after the presenter’s comments regarding Meghan Markle’s mental health attracted widespread criticism from viewers. ITV also came under fire and was accused of “using [its] platform to spread hate”.

This morning (10 March), as GMB aired without Morgan in his usual seat, he tweeted: “On Monday, I said I didn’t believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I’ve had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don’t.”

He added: “If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on. Thanks for all the love and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions.”

RELATED: Follow live Piers Morgan updates after presenter leaves GMB

The tweet – which has been liked nearly 52,000 times at the time of writing – was accompanied by a black and white image of Winston Churchill together with the quote: “Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.”

In Prince Harry and Markle’s recent prime-time interview with Oprah Winfrey, Markle revealed that she previously had suicidal thoughts due to the abuse she received after joining the royal family. On Monday’s (8 March) episode of GMB, Morgan refuted her comments, stating: “I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report.”

Following backlash from viewers as well as mental health charity Mind, Morgan elaborated on his comments the next day, stating that he wanted to “clarify his position on mental health” and said that it is “not for me to question whether she was feeling suicidal”.

He added that his “disbelief” was over her claims that “she went to a senior member of the royal household, told them she was suicidal and was told she could not have any help because it would be a bad look for the family”.

In light of his exit, the now-former GMB presenter also tweeted in honour of his “late, great manager”. He wrote: “Thinking of my late, great manager John Ferriter tonight. He’d have told me to do exactly the same thing. @GMB #TrustYourGut.”

Yesterday evening (9 March), it was revealed that broadcasting regulator Ofcom had received more than 41,000 complaints about Morgan’s behaviour and that an investigation would be launched into whether his comments broke the UK broadcasting code in regards to harm and offence.

This morning (10 March), Susanna Reid appeared on the programme and addressed her co-anchor’s exit for the first time, stating: “Shows go on and on we go.”

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