The two 2Day FM DJs, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, whose prank callhad duped the now-dead nurse Jacintha Saldanha into disclosing information on Kate Middleton’s health, had been trained “not to air any prank calls without permission” and are now “playing dumb”, claims a source from Sydney-based 2Day FM radio station.

The source revealed that all 2Day FM presenters, producers and content managers were compelled to undergo “decency and standards” training every six months, in compliance with the media regulatory of the country.

The training sessions, run by 2Day FM’s in-house lawyer Tania Petsinis, include the specific instruction “not to air prank calls unless they get the subject’s permission … if there is doubt about a prank call, there is a clear chain of command in management that we have to escalate the call through”.

The source added that the training sessions also involved ”how to not cause distress to callers … there is a lot of stuff about taste and decency.”

2Day FM’s claims appear to contrast interviews given by DJs Michael Christian and Mel Greig on A Current Affair where they said they were not aware of the approval process for prank calls. Michael Christian said on the show, ”[we were] not privy to what happens with this call … I’m certainly not aware of what filters it needs to pass through. All we know is that it’s passed on and then we’re told either yay or nay.”

Mel Greig also supported Michael Christian’s statement with, ”It’s not up to us to make that decision. We just record it and then it goes to the other departments to work it out. I don’t know what they then do with it. We just do what we do which is make those calls.”

The 2Day FM source claimed that getting hold of such breaking stories would mean that they would be asking questions every step of the way to try to get it approved as quickly as possible. “You’re hardly going to sit back and wait. These two presenters are broadcast professionals. They can’t play dumb now.”