A trial date has been set for TV psychic Sally Morgan’s libel claim against Daily Mail publishers Associated Newspapers.
Morgan is suing over an article published on 22 September 2011 headlined “What a load of crystal balls!”, which alleged that she pretended to have psychic powers when she was in fact simply repeating instructions from members of her team via a microphone and hidden earpiece.
Morgan, who was Princess Diana's former psychic, claims the story caused substantial damage to her reputation, as well as hurt, distress and embarrassment.
The libel trial is due to start on 10 June and has been scheduled for three weeks.
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The story was widely reported in the national press at the time but Associated Newspapers is the only publisher named on the writ. It was written as an opinion piece by the magician and former psychic Paul Zenon.
The Daily Mail published another article on the same day – headlined 'Only the lonely believe in ghoulish psychics'– which repeated the substance of the allegations.
Morgan is seeking aggravated damages, citing the serious and offensive nature of the allegations which effectively accused her of perpetrating a deliberate fraud on the public, which struck at the heart of her professional and personal reputation, integrity and honesty.
In her High Court writ, Morgan described herself as a professional psychic and claims to have privately helped numerous people overcome traumatic or emotional situations.
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