We woke up today in Free Speech Britain. Ofcom’s decision to vindicate ITV and by extension Piers Morgan is more than just a victory for Piers.
It goes much deeper than that. It’s a victory for free speech, freedom of expression, free thought and, crucially, the right to have an opinion. I wouldn’t have wanted to have woken up in a world this morning where no presenter could come on national television and speak freely on a contentious issue.
It’s a slippery slope from that point – a major, controversial news event takes place and unless someone tows the established line then they’re cancelled, eradicated from the public psyche and discourse like a Chinese opposition politician. I didn’t believe Meghan and Harry. I don’t believe Meghan and Harry.
I didn’t agree with everything Piers Morgan said, I don’t agree with everything he says. But that’s fine, that’s the world we live in. That’s where we want to be. People fought and died for that reality. Nobody has the right to be believed, nobody has the right to not be offended. When Piers Morgan left Good Morning Britain, we were staring down the barrel of a world where it was feelings not facts that really mattered.
Where ‘a truth’ was more important than ‘the truth’. Piers Morgan was asked to apologise for what he said about Meghan and Harry, or leave with immediate effect. He said freedom of speech was a hill he was happy to die on.
Piers, you didn’t die on it, you climbed it and shoved your flag right into the summit. I think it’s a very risky game to play when one disbelieves someone’s mental health claims, at the end of the day nobody knows what’s going on in someone else’s head. And I can see why some people thought Piers was being insensitive.
But when someone either demonstrably lies or is a bit fruity with the truth, then a picture of the Princess who Cried Wolf starts to emerge and then, unfortunately, you start questioning everything else she says as well. Meghan and Harry’s secret wedding – it didn’t happen – if it had happened then the Archbishop of Canterbury would have been arrested because it’s illegal.
Meghan said she was silenced – she guest edited Vogue during that time and made 73 public appearances. She was hardly Helen Keller. She claimed her passport was taken away by the palace – she took 14 flights during that time, some of which were on Elton John’s private jet. She said Archie was denied the chance to be a prince.
That’s untrue. According to a letter patent issued by King George V in November 1917. Archie is entitled to become a prince - but not yet. He could only do so when Prince Charles becomes king. Last time I checked, the Queen is very much still alive – and long may it last.
By extension, that’s why Archie wasn’t given 24/7 protection, not because he’s mixed race. The idea that Meghan didn’t know who Harry was before she met him is hard to believe. Harry is, and always was, one of the most famous people on the planet and Meghan apparently had an interest in the Royal Family for years prior.
Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in this undated handout photo. Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Handout .
In fact, if you google famous red heads Harry comes in third below Lucille Ball and, weirdly, Julianne Moore. And of course there’s the real fakery of the whole thing – importing George Clooney to your own wedding, trying to pass it off as though they were friends, only for him to be overheard saying he’d never met them.
I’d like to say well done Ofcom, if you can’t come on national television and express doubts over the truthfulness of someone’s remarks in the face of such overwhelming evidence then, frankly, we might as well just pack up and go home.
What shone through in Ofcom's verdict was that because ITV offered balance to Piers Morgan’s view, because he was challenged, everything was fine. And that’s the point. People forgot about that. People only focused on what Piers said, they wilfully chose to ignore that he was having a discussion in the round with people who disagreed with him. Because that’s what we can do in a free and fair society. Nothing sums up modern cancel culture like what happened to Piers.
They disagreed with what he said so they tried to silence him and only allow one view. The irony is that the woke types have more in common with North Korea than the lovely liberal values they claim to uphold.
Well done Piers, well done Ofcom, whether you realise it or not ladies and gentlemen, today is a better day for Britain by virtue of Piers Morgan’s name being cleared.