U.K. police contact Aussie station over hoax

2Day FM radio station signage is displayed outside the station's building in Sydney on December 8, 2012. / GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images

LONDON British police have contacted Australian authorities about a possible investigation into a radio station's hoax call to a U.K. hospital, they said Sunday, as the company that owns the station promised it is reviewing its broadcast practices.

Play Video

Royal hospital hoax ends in tragedy

The prank took a dark twist Friday with the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha, a 46-year-old mother of two, three days after she unwittingly accepted the call about the health of Prince William's pregnant wife, Kate. The death has sparked an angry backlash from those who argue the DJs who carried out the hoax should be held responsible.

The board of Southern Cross Austereo met Sunday to discuss a harsh letter from the hospital that fell for the call. King Edward VII's Hospital, where the former Kate Middleton was being treated for acute morning sickness this week, condemned the "truly appalling" hoax and said the "longer term consequence has been reported around the world and is, frankly, tragic beyond words."

Max Moore-Wilton, the chairman of 2DayFM owner Southern Cross Austereo, said in a letter to the hospital's chairman Sunday that the company will cooperate with any investigation.

"I can assure you we are taking immediate action and reviewing the broadcast and processes involved," he said. "As we have said in our own statements on the matter, the outcome was unforeseeable and very regrettable."

The radio station callers impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles and received confidential details about the former Kate Middleton's medical information. The call was recorded and broadcast.

• Anger at Australian radio station over royal hoax
• Australian radio jocks leave airwaves following nurse's death
• Nurse in Duchess Kate hoax dead in apparent suicide

Police have not yet determined Saldanha's cause of death, but people from London to Sydney have been making the assumption she died because of stress from the call.

Both DJs involved apologized for the prank before Saldanha's death. Their show has been suspended indefinitely.

Australian police Sunday confirmed they had been contacted by London police and said they would cooperate.

[PeripateticApostate]

Now exactly what would the UK authorities be wanting to investigate? Is it usual for them to look into criminal liability related to prank calls and ONLY to prank calls?

A great deal of outrage has been expressed to the effect that the Australian media personalities are responsible for the death of this nurse.

In fact, nothing of the kind is true.

If there are truly sincere and reasonable individuals wanting to examine the issue of why this VERY, VERY disturbed woman would take her life and who are individuals who want to find solutions to this matter, I suggest those outraged by what happened and wanting to prevent it in the future look into the cultures---both British and Indian---that are directly and despicably responsible for making this woman believe that any solution she might choose to resolve her own deep-seated crises would include suicide among the alternatives. For those cultures are to blame. Not any Australian pranksters.

Looking for guilt? I suggest members of this woman's family engage in a thorough self-introspection. I suggest members of the UK mental health system might investigate why they failed to identify this nurse as prone to such a rash act, and how they can provide a support structure for these vulnerable individuals.

What I suggest everyone (else) does is to stop trying to foist blame for the death (not the prank alone) on the Australian media personalities.

[joesapper]

The tens of millions in marketing adds pulled in some Aussi media outlets disagree with you , with their pocket books .

The two that made the call did this with a strong support of those in management , as many were consulted prior to both the attempt and after the call was made , so the consulting of lawyers by the station totally understood that there was infact great risk on many levels .

This is not a spoof involving a some hollywood figure.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

GrumpyOldPhart says:Chuck766 replies: Who the hell gets admitted to the hospital for morning sickness anyway?
----
Wusses.

[SUZAMBA]

If you've ever been pregnant with morning sickness, and it occurs
morning, noon and night: you would not be asking this question.
Not to mention the impact morning sickness has on your whole system. It causes severe dehydration and weakness. So please do not degrade women whom have been or are pregnant by calling them "Wusses!"

[gmcken]

I don't for a minute think that prank call was the sole reason for her death. Mentally healthy people don't commit suicide because of a single embarrassing incident. BUT! I also think what those DJs did was tasteless, childish, irresponsible and mean. Media bullies getting their laughs at someone else's expense. The so-called "adults" who listen to that kind of garbage and consider it harmless fun are no different from the school yard brats laughing and cheering the bullies on

[jnostromo]

Go get them Scotland Yard....Rule Britannia!!!!

[Sassytooyou]

Humor at the expense of a person that is ill is wrong by itself. To tie up medical personel with foolishness and endager a yet to be born baby and their mother is unimaginable. It is up to us to teach our children what is right and wrong or they will grow up to be thoughtless fools. If we dont teach our children the world will teach them.

[readg821]

I can't imagine why the radio station would send a prank call to the hospital in the 1st place. Prince William and Kate are expecting their 1st child, Kate was suffering from serious side effects of morning sickness. At the least, wouldn't the DJ's have some consideration for Kate's health AND her unborn child?? What might the stress of a prank-funny or not do to her and her child?? Add to that the extreme stress cause to the nurse who believed the call was real-the nurses' 1st PRIORITY was the well being of her patient and unborn child. I don't see malicious intent, just a few overanxious DJ's (and media higher-ups) looking for top ratings, "prank of the year". etc. The real issue, as I see it, is lack of advance planning for all outcomes, not just the obvious, and a self-centeredness, a lack of consideration for others.

[joesapper]

Great post , but the station consulted their lawyers before the call , so consideration was giving to possible damage on many levels , so this action is a glaring Fact that great risk was involved by the call .

[varigdc10]

These pranks, jokes. or gags can and will backfire. I remember a few years back in Long Beach, or L.A.the radio guys dared anyone to drink a gallon of water non-stop to win a prize. One woman did and a few hours later suddenly died from acute total kidney failure. The radio jocks said they did not know this could happen. Yes, this can happen.

[freeamerica31]

No comparison to this and is very unfair. These DJ's did not harm anyone and did a simple impersonation of the Royals. Comedians do impersonations all the time and if you believe a simple phone call is so terrible then the humor of any country is gone.

The more probable cause is the hospital was pressured to fire the nurses and caused the woman to commit suicide and they are looking for a PR scapegoat.

The woman was an immigrant hired from India and she wanted a better life for her family more than likely and her probable dismissal by the hospital led to this tragic action on her part.

[signseeker1717]

When comedians impersonate, they do it openly, and everyone KNOWS it is an impersonation. But what the DJs did was DECEPTIVELY impersonate to obtain medical information. NOT the same thing.

[all4science]

Learn to laugh at ourselves sometimes and all would be well; can't imagine why the woman would kill herself over a joke? Maybe she was too humiliated.

[rickster454]

something fishy on this one. Probably another murder.

[joesapper]

It is a crime to interfere with a Foreign Diplomant or a Diplomant that holds Office in a Host Country , so the question is does either of the two { him , her } hold Office in the land of Aus ?

This is the future King of the Common Wealth , not some hollywood figure .

So will there be a lesson taught for the protection of the future King ?

[cat1234]

If anything it was probably your imaginary friend.

[freeamerica31]

Joesapper what protection? It's not like they were trying to assassinate the Royals! Geez...it was an impersonation which didn't divulge anything...most of all that Royals are leeches off the British people.

There is no diplomat issues here...strecthing beyond the scope. Maybe you Brits should be looking at the hospital to see if they were firing the woman who was an immigrant from India and possibly treated poorly in the aftermath.