Prince Harry and Meghan Critic Denies 'Criminal Allegations'

Dan Wootton, a journalist and regular critic of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, has blamed "dark forces" for allegations of sexual offenses made against him.

The GB News presenter is accused of using a false identity, or catfishing, to offer male colleagues thousands of pounds to send nude images, according to Byline Times and The Guardian.

During a monologue at the start of his Tuesday night show on the U.K. news channel, he denied "criminal allegations" but acknowledged "errors of judgment in the past."

Byline Times said it had sent a dossier of evidence to the police in June.

The Metropolitan Police has said it is "assessing information" regarding allegations "of sexual offenses committed by a man" and has not yet launched a formal investigation.

Wootton, a regular critic of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on TV and in his newspaper columns, has also written a number of royal scoops. Among them was a November 2018 article in The Sun alleging that Harry had been involved in a heated exchange with Queen Elizabeth II over Meghan's wedding day tiara.

Harry confirmed in his memoir that there had been tensions with a courtier over the tiara, but his account was somewhat different to Wootton's story.

During his monologue on July 18, Wootton told GB News viewers: "I have been the target of a smear campaign by nefarious players with an axe to grind."

He also said he had previously been in an abusive relationship but had since found love. His boyfriend was with him in the studio, he added.

Wootton said: "I have made errors of judgment in the past, but the criminal allegations made against me are simply untrue.

"I would like nothing more than to address those spurious claims, I could actually spend the next two hours doing so. But on the advice of my lawyers, I cannot comment further.

"But I have been thinking much over the past few days about the current state of social media, where any allegation can be made in an attempt to get someone canceled but it is impossible to defend yourself against thousands of trolls."

"Who doesn't have regrets," he continued. "Should I be canceled for them many years later?"

He added: "I do also note that there are dark forces out to try and take this brilliant channel down."

Newsweek has approached GB News, launched in June 2021, for comment.

After the allegations came to light, singer Lily Allen posted an image of a Wootton tweet from 2015, promoting a Sun front page about her.

Wootton, who was previously showbiz editor at the tabloid, wrote, "Lily Allen—what a mess. But finally exposed," alongside the report claiming she had passed out drunk at the Glastonbury festival.

In a Twitter post viewed around 10.7 million times since Tuesday, Allen wrote: "Whilst I'm able to take responsibility for my own actions I can hand on heart say that a big part of the reason I would get myself into these states was because of the relentless bullying and constant surveillance and scrutiny this man had me under.

"FOR NO REASON. Anyway, karma's a b****. I couldn't be happier at this time in my life. absolutely thriving."

Richard Bacon, a U.K. TV presenter, wrote in a tweet viewed 350,000 times: "Dan Wootton has been very clear with us all for a very long time that he is morally superior to Meghan Markle. Let us see how that plays out."

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told Newsweek: "In June 2023, officers were contacted about allegations of sexual offenses committed by a man.

"Officers are assessing information to establish whether any criminal offense has taken place. There is no police investigation at this time. The Met does not identify any person who may or may not be the subject of the investigation."

It is normal procedure for Met detectives to spend a period of time assessing information before deciding whether to investigate formally.

Many of the allegations against Wootton date back to his time at The Sun, whose publisher News UK said it was "looking into the allegations." The publisher of MailOnline, where Wootton writes a column, has issued a similar statement.

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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