In a statement shared with MailOnline, the 32-year-old reality star called the scandal a “harassment” campaign against her, while also offering her condolences to those offended by the comments. The mother-of-one was forced to speak out after an anonymous Instagram account allegedly sent by Ferne was leaked, in which a woman’s voice calls one of Arthur’s victims a “stupid b****”. They were said to be referring to Sophie Hall, who reached the final of a Miss England final 15 months after the heartbreaking attack, bearing her scars. Speaking out: Ferne McCann insisted she has ‘deep sympathy’ for acid attack victim Sophie Hall after she was accused of calling her a ‘stupid bh’ in alleged leaked voice memos (pictured last month ) The account responsible for sharing the audio previously said more voice notes, allegedly from Ferne, would be sent in the next 24 hours. Breaking her silence on the scandal, a statement released by Ferne’s representatives read: “These voicemails are part of a wider harassment campaign designed to intimidate and defame Ferne. “They are subject to an ongoing investigation by Essex Police and as such Ferne is unable to comment other than to say that she expresses her deepest sympathy for the distress and hurt this situation is causing Mrs. Hall.” A source close to the former I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! The star previously told MailOnline that the messages have been “spliced together” from separate recordings in an attempt to “destroy her”. Trouble: It is claimed the voice notes were of Sophie Hall, who reached the final of a Miss England pageant 15 months after the horrific attack, leaving her scars Sophie, 27, who was left devastated when Ferne’s then-boyfriend Arthur threw acid in a London club in 2017, urged ITV to “take action” and hold her accountable. Sophie, who Ferne reportedly referred to as “silly talk” told the Sun she had spent five years rebuilding her confidence and “now within minutes all my hard work has been destroyed by these malicious voice notes”. . The acid attack victim has slammed the First Time Mum star for being “cruel and mean” and has questioned why she should be given the platform to tear others down. “ITV needs to deal with what was said by Ferne. He needs to be held to account, and so should they,” Ms Hall told The Sun. “ITV need to take action not just for me but for other leaked voice notes. The ones that were embarrassing and so rude. Convicted: Fern’s ex Arthur Collins is serving 20 years in prison after throwing acid at an East London nightclub in April 2017 and injuring 14 people Amidst the scandal, filming of Ferne’s reality series has been halted. Ferne McCann: First Time Mom kicked off 2017 and followed the star as she prepared to welcome her first child following her split from Arthur. The series has since charted her life as a single mother with daughter Sunday, five. A source told MailOnline: “ITV are not currently filming Ferne’s series but are in contact with her and continue to offer support.” An insider told the Sun that ITV is now waiting to see ‘how it goes’, adding: ‘ITV were due to start filming the next series of First Time Mum in the next few weeks but now it’s all up in the air. “Discussions are ongoing as to when he can resume shooting the series in light of everything that has happened. “ITV have been in talks with Ferne about the situation and will continue to speak with her to see where they go from here.” Shock: Filming for Ferne’s ITVBe series has been halted following the allegations and after Sophie spoke about her experience (pictured today) On Thursday, friends of the reality star rallied around her to slam the “sick” claims she made the “disgusting” comments The source explained: “Ferne is devastated by the content of these voicemails. This is part of an ongoing hate campaign against her. “The last message has been combined from different WhatsApp recordings. “The messages are about four and five years old and out of context. Whoever released the private voice recordings is trying to destroy it. “The fact that they kept the private voicemails for so long and are now releasing them shows what kind of sick person they are. It doesn’t just hurt Fern, it hurts the people it’s talking about. Fern is well aware of that too.” One to watch: Ferne McCann: First time mum launched in 2017 and the series has charted her life as a single mum with daughter Sunday, Five (pictured on show) The source continued: “The truth is Ferne has huge sympathy for Arthur’s victims and what they’ve been through. He admires their courage. “Police are continuing their investigation into who is leaking and processing the messages. “Ferne is due to be re-interviewed to assist in the pursuit of the perpetrator. “Her legal team has informed her that she is unable to speak at this time while investigations are ongoing.” Case in point: Ferne accused of making ‘disgusting’ comments about one of ex-boyfriend Arthur’s victims in recently leaked voice memos (pictured in 2017) Collins is currently serving 20 years in prison after throwing acid at an East London nightclub in April 2017 and injuring 14 people. The former scaffolder – the father of daughter Fern, on Sunday, five – was convicted of five counts of grievous bodily harm with intent and nine counts of actual bodily harm against 14 people, including model Sophie. The voicemail message posted by the anonymous account, which it claims was sent by Ferne, discussed Sophie’s participation in the 2018 beauty pageants. A female voice is heard saying: “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, the stupid bh made a dress… A papier mache dress out of newspaper clippings from the event” (Sophie is pictured competes in a competition) A female voice is heard saying: “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, the stupid bh has made a dress… A papier mache dress out of newspaper clippings from the event.” In another post, the woman says: “She’s probably going to win it, I’m not gonna lie, just because of the event and the awards she’s been in or the beauty pageant, whatever it is.” “They probably love all this free press for their event, so they’ll probably build it, win it.” The Instagram account was previously suspended after Ferne reported it to the police after it circulated posts alleged by the reality star in which she called her ex-TOWIE boyfriend Sam Faiers, 31, a “fat c” and a “narcissistic b* * ch. Sam and Ferne, who starred alongside each other in The Only Way Is Essex, have been friends for more than 20 years. Falling out: Ferne has been embroiled in an ongoing feud with Sam Faiers, 31, after leaked audio allegedly saw Ferne calling her boyfriend a “fat c***” (pictured together in 2019)
