2 Feb 2013

No charges in UK over fatal prank call

6:53 am on 2 February 2013

Prosecutors in Britain say they will not press charges over a hoax call by two Australian radio presenters to a hospital in London where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated.

Nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found dead three days after taking the call. She apparently took her own life.

The Crown Prosecution Service said there is no evidence to support a charge of manslaughter.

There was some evidence of possible offences under data protection laws, but any potential prosecution would not be in the public interest.

The duchess had been admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in December with hyperemesis gravidarum, acute morning sickness.

The prank call resulted in details of Catherine's treatment for being revealed on air.