Prank turns to tragedy as royal nurse found dead

HER VOICE was heard around the world and now everyone knows her name – for all the wrong reasons.

British nurse Jacintha Saldanha, a 46-year-old mother of two teenagers, was found dead yesterday, apparently taking her own life after being the victim of a prank by a now disgraced Australian radio station.

Duped into thinking the Queen was on the line inquiring about the welfare of her pregnant daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, Saldanha put the call through to a colleague, who gave out information about the duchess, who was suffering extreme morning sickness.

The hosts of the 2Day FM station are on indefinite leave and yesterday the chief executive of the station’s parent company Southern Cross Austereo, fronted the media, stating he was confi- dent the pair had done nothing wrong.

He said the nurse’s death could not have reasonably been foreseen.

‘‘ We’ve followed procedure that we have within our company and we’re satisfied that that procedure was met,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re very confident that we haven’t done anything illegal. What happened was incredibly tragic and we’re deeply saddened and we’re incredibly affected by that.’’

However, opposition spokesman for communications, Malcolm Turnbull, said both the police and the Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) would be looking at the incident.

‘‘All Australians will be shocked and dismayed by the tragic death of the British nurse Jacintha Saldanha,’’ Turnbull said. ‘‘Given the gravity of this matter and the likely involvement of the police as well as the ACMA, I have no further comment on these tragic events today.’’

In May, the broadcast watchdog warned the station it could lose its licence for any repeat of offensive on-air comments after morning show presenter Kyle Sandilands called a female journalist a ‘‘fat slag’’ and threatened to ‘‘hunt her down’’.

In the wake of this latest scandal, major backers Coles and Telstra were the first to suspend advertising and spokeswoman Sandy Kay later told Fairfax Media all advertising had been canned.

‘‘ We have pulled advertising 2Day FM indefinitely,’’ she said.

‘‘We understand Australians are clearly angry and upset by what appear to be tragic consequences of the 2Day FM hospital prank,’’ Coles said in a statement.

Holleran said presenters Mel Greig and

on Michael Christian have been offered counselling but will not speak to the media. ‘‘I’ve spoken with the presenters concerned. They are both deeply shocked and at this time we’ve agreed they not comment about the circumstances.’’

The pair telephoned King Edward VII Hospital, impersonating the Queen and Prince Charles and seeking details about the condition of the duchess. The prank call was pre- recorded and vetted by lawyers before being broadcast.

Austereo said it was committed to working with any authorities.

‘‘Our primary concern at this time for the family of nurse Saldanha.’’

Greig and Christian apologised for their ‘‘ lighthearted’’ prank, but have been bombarded with online abuse for their stunt and have since disabled their Twitter accounts.

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Jeff Kennett, chairman of depression awareness group Beyond Blue, was one of the few in the corner of the presenters, saying Australians should support rather than crucify the pair.

Radio pranks were ‘‘part of the Australian makeup’’ and calls for them to be stopped, and for the presenters to be sacked, were wrong, he said.

He was late last night backed up by Australian commentator Peter FitzSimons who told the British media to ‘‘get a grip’’. ‘‘It is a shocking tragedy this young woman has taken her life. But is the real culprit a couple of DJs making a prank call? Or does the fault lie somewhere in an English culture of such overblown hyperbole when it comes to anything to do with the royals.’’