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| Australian DJ Mel Greig leaves the High Court in London September 12, 2014. REUTERS/Daniel Leal-Olivas |
LONDON (Reuters) - An Australian
DJ who hoaxed a London hospital treating Prince William's wife Kate
made an emotional apology on Friday to the family of the nurse who
killed herself days after she answered the prank call.
Indian-born Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found hanging in December 2012,
three days after she answered the call from DJs Mel Greig and Michael
Christian in which they had pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and
William's father, Prince Charles.
Saldanha put the call through to another nurse who disclosed details of
Kate's condition during treatment for acute morning sickness she was
suffering in the early stages of pregnancy with son Prince George,
leading to headlines around the world.
At the inquest into her death, Coroner Fiona Wilcox said the hoax was
"clearly pressing on her mind" when Saldanha stunned family, friends and
colleagues by committing suicide in her hospital lodgings.
Greig voluntarily flew over from Australia to attend the inquest at
London's Royal Courts of Justice, and the coroner allowed her to make a
statement after the court ruled Saldanha took her own life.
"I am so deeply sorry for your loss. I have wanted to say this
to you for so long," a tearful Greig said directly to Saldanha's
husband and two children. 
"This tragedy is always going to stay with me," she added, weeping as she returned to her seat near the family.
The hoax call was made to the Edward VII hospital at about 5:30 a.m.
London time when Saldanha, in her role as night sister, was the most
senior figure in the hospital and so dealt with any external calls.
It was followed by four more calls from the 2Day FM station seeking
permission to broadcast it, which Wilcox said were almost certainly also
answered by Saldanha.
"If Miss Saldanha did take those calls I find it inconceivable that she would have consented ... to its broadcast," she said.
The two-day inquest heard
Saldanha sent emails to colleagues and senior managers in which she
repeatedly apologized and blamed herself for the incident. Hospital
protocol was that she should have hung up, even if the queen herself had
phoned, to verify the caller's identity.
ASHAMED
"I don't know how to face the bosses tomorrow," she wrote in one email
to another night sister which was read to the court. "I feel so ashamed
of myself."
The day before
the prank call, Saldanha had also learned that a grievance, taken out
against her by a junior nurse she had been mentoring over accusations of
bullying, had not been upheld.
However, Saldanha's husband of 19 years, Benedict Barboza, said on
Thursday his wife had been her usual happy, bubbly self before the
incident. He said she was not suffering from stress and had no history
of depression.
"The hoax
call was clearly pressing upon her mind as were the difficulties she had
experienced with her colleague," said Coroner Wilcox. The hospital said
there was no question of disciplinary action and Wilcox accepted the
support given to Saldanha by the hospital had been appropriate.
She said her suicide had come as a "complete and total surprise" to all
and said her ruling could not apportion any criminal or civil
liability. Last year, British prosecutors said the two DJs would face no
criminal charges over the death.
"To fellow announcers and DJs, I urge you to speak up if don't feel
comfortable and to consider the feelings of others when trying to make a
joke," Greig said in her court statement. "The joke should always be on
us, the DJs."
The inquest
was held just days after it was announced that William and Kate, the
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are expecting their second child, with
the duchess once again suffering acute morning sickness.
"We would like to thank the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who publicly
and privately have supported the family and always been of concern for
their welfare," British lawmaker Keith Vaz, who has been representing
the family, told reporters.
(Editing by Alison Williams)
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