Royal hoax DJ sues over 'unsafe office'

Mel Greig, who pretended to be the Queen when she and co-host Michael Christian phoned King Edward VII Hospital in December, has initiated legal action against Southern Cross Austereo alleging her employer has treated her unfairly.

No work: Mel Greig, who pretended to be the Queen during the prank, has not returned to work since the incident. File Pic

The application alleges that her employers failed to maintain a safe workplace in relation to the hoax phone call incident. Nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found dead three days after the pair made the controversial call and had blamed the DJs in a note she left. While Greig has not returned to work since the incident, Christian has been awarded the internal Next Top Jock competition for DJs at his employer, which aimed to find the ‘best in the land'.

Greig has reportedly been left angry with her treatment from the radio network. The DJ has reportedly been in hiding at a secret address and will voluntarily fly to the UK to attend the inquest into the death of Saldanha this September. Greig's lawyer, Steven Lewis said that in coming weeks Greig and the radio network would attend a conciliation conference.

Southern Cross Austereo released a statement at the time of Saldanha's death which said it was "deeply saddened by the tragic news of the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha fromKing Edward VII's hospital and we extend our deepest sympathies to her family and all that have been affected by this situation around the world".

The DJs were "deeply shocked", the spokesperson added. In a later interview Greig said the incident was "really tragic," and that finding out about Saldanha's death was "the worst phone call I've ever had in my life".
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