James Forlong, the former Sky News reporter, who resigned after faking a news report aboard the submarine HMS Splendid during the second Gulf War, was found dead at his home over the weekend.
Forlong was found hanged at his home in Hove, according to a report in the Brighton Argus.
Sussex Police confirmed a 44 year-old man was found dead at his home in Hove in the early hours of Saturday morning. “There were no suspicious circumstances,” a spokeswoman said.
A post mortem will be held on Tuesday and an inquest into his death is to be held at a later date.
Forlong, with the broadcaster for 10 years, left in July following an internal investigation that was prompted by a BBC documentary featuring the fabricated report.
At the time the Guardian wrote a story on the impending documentary and its intention to expose the Sky News report as fake.
The report had included images showing a cruise missile being fired after Forlong said HMS Splendid was “beneath the waters of the Persian Gulf… moments before a cruise missile is launched”, when the submarine was actually in dry dock where it was impossible to fire from.
It later transpired those images were library footage, and Sky admitted the report was a fabrication.
At the time, head of Sky News Nick Pollard said he believed Forlong had taken “the only possible course” in resigning.
by Wale Azeez
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