London - Britain's press watchdog, after the country's biggest investigation into possible insider trading by a member of the media, said yesterday the editor of the Daily Mirror broke industry rules.
The Press Complaints Commission said Piers Morgan broke the code of conduct on financial journalism by buying thousands of pounds worth of shares (in Wiggins Group and Viglen Plc) the day before the Mirror published an "exclusive" story tipping them to soar.
Morgan has denied the allegations brought against him by a Mirror journalist Anil Bhoryul, sacked from the paper for gross misconduct in February along with the column's co-writer James Hipwell. They are taking the paper to court for unfair dismissal.