Hugh Grant calls Piers Morgan 'bullshit' in clash over privacy case against Rupert Murdoch-owned papers

Labelling Morgan’s accusations as “bullshit”, the Love Actually actor said this in a fiery X (formerly Twitter) exchange that reignited discussions about the long-delayed Leveson 2 inquiry.

The exchange began after Morgan tweeted: “REMINDER: Hugh Grant took many millions of pounds from Rupert Murdoch to make movies for him. Hypocrite.”

Grant fired back, categorically denying Morgan’s claim: “Bullshit. The last time I worked for a Murdoch-owned company was in 1994. Which was long before I knew anything about his papers' methods. Since then I have turned down every single job emanating from a Murdoch-owned company.”

Grant has been a prominent advocate for the completion of the Leveson Inquiry's second part, known as Leveson 2. He has called for this continuation to further investigate press ethics and practices.

The first part of Lord Leveson’s inquiry into press ethics, launched over a decade ago after the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, resulted in largely unfulfilled recommendations for regulating newspapers. The second phase, Leveson 2, aimed to investigate media-police relations but was postponed due to ongoing criminal cases and permanently cancelled in 2018 by Culture Secretary Matt Hancock following lobbying from News UK.

Jeremy Corbyn pledged to restart the inquiry as Labour leader, but his successor, Keir Starmer, has taken a softer stance on press regulation. Notably, The Sun and The Sunday Times endorsed Labour before the general election.

Newspaper lobby groups claim that the British media landscape has transformed significantly since the phone-hacking scandal, citing declining profits and shrinking audiences as readers move online. Over the past two decades, the parent companies of The Sun and The Mirror have paid out more than a billion pounds in legal fees and damages related to phone-hacking cases.

In a recent interview with BBC Radio 4 interview, Grant stressed on the necessity of the inquiry, saying: "There should be Leveson 2, repeatedly promised by the Labour Party and the opposition to the victims over and over again. Now it seems to have disappeared from their priority list now they're in government."

Prince Harry has also been actively involved in legal actions against British tabloids for unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking. In a recent case against NGN, the publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, Harry settled his privacy invasion lawsuit just before the trial was set to begin. NGN issued a public apology and agreed to pay substantial damages, acknowledging that private investigators working for The Sun had engaged in unlawful activities.

This settlement marked the first time NGN admitted to unlawful conduct by The Sun, though they continue to deny that phone hacking occurred at the publication, prompting calls for renewed police investigations into alleged misconduct and cover-ups by NGN.