U.K. Prosecutors Won’t Press Charges Over Kate Radio Prank Call

U.K. prosecutors won’t file charges against two Australian disc jockeys over hoax calls involving the Duchess of Cambridge while she was in a London hospital.

A nurse, who had initially taken the call from the pranksters, committed suicide after the incident. There is no evidence to support manslaughter charges, said Malcolm McHaffie, at the Crown Prosecution Service, in an e-mailed statement today.

Radio hosts at Southern Cross Media Group Ltd. (SXL), Mel Greig and Michael Christian, impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles in the call seeking details about the health of the former Kate Middleton, the pregnant wife of Charles’s son William, the second in line to the British throne.

“However misguided, the telephone call was intended as a harmless prank,” McHaffie said. “The consequences in this case were very sad.”

While there may be evidence to support violations of the Data Protection Act, it wouldn’t be possible to extradite anyone from Australia for those offenses, the CPS said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeremy Hodges in London at jhodges17@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net