Prince Harry speaks out against Jeremy Clarkson’s Meghan Markle article

"It encourages men to go and think that it's acceptable to treat women that way."

Prince Harry has labelled an article written by Jeremy Clarkson about Meghan Markle as "horrific and cruel". The royal addressed the column which appeared in The Sun during his interview with Tom Bradby last night. In the article, the former Top Gear presenter said that he "hates" Meghan Markle on a "cellular level". He compared her to convicted serial killer Rose West, and wrote about how he dreams of people throwing "lumps of excrement" at her while she walks through the streets. The column was subsequently removed from The Sun's website following a record number of complaints. In fact, it became the most complained about newspaper article in the history of the UK's press. At the time of its publication, many public figures – including Clarkson's own daughter Emily – spoke out against it, and now Harry himself has condemned it. The Prince also said that that sort of rhetoric could encourage men to treat women in an unacceptable way. In the interview, he said: "The Jeremy Clarkson article, not only what he said was horrific and is hurtful and cruel towards my wife, but it also encourages other people around the UK and around the world, men particularly, to go and think that it’s acceptable to treat women that way." He added: "To use my stepmother’s words recently as well, there is a global pandemic of violent – violence against women." Elsewhere in the interview, Harry explained why he decided to write a memoir. He said: "8 years of having my story told by so many different people with intentional spin and distortion, it felt like a good time to own my story and tell it myself." Prince Harry's memoir Spare will be released tomorrow. You can watch Harry: The Interview on Virgin Media Player right here.

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• Meghan Markle set to release her own "bombshell" memoir