Smallscreen News

Hacking smoke around Piers Morgan thickens, calls to return to UK

By April MacIntyre Aug 5, 2011, 6:28 GMT

01/20/2011 - Piers Morgan - "Late Show with David Letterman" - January 20, 2011 - Ed Sullivan Theatre - New York City, NY, USA © Janet Mayer / PR Photos

Hugely successful in the United States, the host and star of his own CNN chat show, Piers Morgan, is under pressure to return back to the UK from America.

Former Daily Mirror Editor Piers Morgan has denied any involvement in phone hacking while he was Mirror editor, according to the Guardian.

Not so fast says John Whittingdale, the Conservative MP who chairs the Commons culture, media and sport committee, who said  "Therese Coffey [a Tory member of the committee] said he should come back to this countryto answer questions and I think that is absolutely right. He certainly should."

A column Piers wrote five years may be the damning evidence, and former wife of Paul McCartney, Heather Mills is involved.

According to the Guardian, the Daily Mail column written by Piers in 2006 stated that he had heard the message from Paul McCartney on Mills's phone after the couple had an argument. Piers said the former Beatle sounded "lonely, miserable and desperate".

Paul McCartney spoke at the Television Critics' Association summer press tour today in Beverly Hills via sattelite from Ohio and said, "apparently I have been hacked".

Morgan denied he has ever hacked a phone. On Twitter he wrote:  "Morning all, lovely day in LA. Anything going on back home in UK? Seems a bit quiet over there … so heart-warming that everyone in UK's missing me so much they want me to come home."