Piers Morgan’s legal threat against Earl Spencer has reportedly resulted in more than an apology, with future editions of Spencer’s new memoir expected to contain changes to disputed passages about the broadcaster.
Spencer’s book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, includes claims about Morgan’s involvement in the publication of photographs of Princess Diana taken while she was exercising. Morgan strongly rejected the account, arguing that the timeline presented in the book was incorrect.
Morgan pointed out that the photographs were published by the Sunday Mirror in 1993, while he did not join the Daily Mirror until 1995. At the time the photographs appeared, he said, he was working for The Sun, meaning he had no responsibility for the Mirror publication.
Following Morgan’s objections, Spencer apologized for the disputed claims. Morgan said he accepted the apology but maintained that he intended to take legal action against Spencer and the book’s publishers.
He has also called for the disputed material to be removed from future copies of the memoir.
According to a report cited by AOL, the dispute could now require the publisher to undertake a costly reprint so that the relevant passages are corrected. A source described the situation as particularly difficult because copies of the book had already been printed and released for sale.
The controversy comes as Spencer’s memoir has attracted significant attention for its account of his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales, as well as claims concerning other members of the royal family.
Morgan has questioned whether the disputed account should affect readers’ confidence in other claims contained in the book, given what he describes as basic factual errors concerning his own involvement.
The legal dispute therefore appears set to continue despite Spencer’s apology, with the focus now shifting to how the publisher handles future editions of the memoir.