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Newspapers ban pictures of Kate taken by paparazzi
Prince William wants 'more than anything' to stop harassment of girlfriend
MOVES to prevent paparazzi harassment of Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton gained some ground last night.
Two major newspaper groups introduced self-imposed bans on using paparazzi pictures of Miss Middleton.
Royal aides revealed Prince William wants "more than anything" for photographers to stop harassing his long-term girlfriend, who ran the gauntlet of media outside her home again yesterday on what was her 25th birthday.
News International confirmed it would not publish future paparazzi pictures of Miss Middleton, a decision which affects The Sun, the News of the World, The Times, The Sunday Times and free newspaper thelondonpaper.
The Daily Mail said it would abide by guidelines laid down by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) when deciding whether to use photographs of Miss Middleton.
In a statement, the paper said: "The PCC has very strict guidelines in respect of privacy, harassment and photographing individuals. As always the Daily Mail will respect both the letter and spirit of those rules.
"It will do nothing likely to cause distress or upset to Miss Middleton and will always act responsibly in respect of any photographs taken of her." Lawyers for Miss Middleton are attempting to use persuasion rather than legal action to help protect her.
Harbottle and Lewis, who also act for the Prince of Wales, has been keeping the Press Complaints Commission informed of its correspondence with newspapers and magazines, but has not made a formal complaint.
It remains to be seen whether the moves by the two newspapers will have any impact on the photographers alleged to have been pursuing Miss Middleton around London or whether other publishing groups will follow their lead.
The Mirror and Daily Express were not imposing a ban, according to the mediaguardian.co.uk site.
A spokesman for Trinity Mirror, which owns The Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People, declined to comment on the matter.
A spokesman for Express Newspapers told mediaguardian.co.uk: "The policy of all our newspapers is to exercise caution and restraint on pictures of Kate Middleton whether taken by the paparazzi photographers these newspapers have supposedly banned, our own photographers or anyone else."
News International, whose executive chairman Les Hinton is also chairman of the PCC's Code of Practice Committee, said it would still use pictures of Miss Middleton taken by their own photographers or picture agencies abiding by the PCC code.
Interest in the woman predicted to be a future Queen has escalated in recent weeks following rumours that she and William are set to wed.
Clarence House said second-in-line to the throne William wanted to see an end to the persistent attention Miss Middleton is facing.
A spokesman for the Prince said: "We are pleased that News International has agreed to stop using the paparazzi pictures.
"What Prince William wants more than anything is for the paparazzi to stop harassing her."
Miss Middleton was confronted with a large Press pack outside her London home yesterday as she left for work, with more than 20 photographers and five TV crews waiting for her to emerge from her Chelsea flat.
The situation has infuriated William – not least because of the intrusion faced by his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Princess, who was the world's most photographed woman, was being followed by paparazzi when she was killed in a car accident in Paris in 1997.
The photographers took pictures of her as she lay dying at the crash site – actions which shocked and distressed William and younger brother Prince Harry.
Like Kate, Diana also endured photographers waiting outside her home when she was dating the Prince of Wales.
Images from November 1980 – three months before it was announced she was to wed Charles – show the Princess, then Lady Diana Spencer, getting into her small car watched by the Press near her London flat as she headed to work at a nursery school in Pimlico.
The Prince met Miss Middleton at university and the pair have been dating for more than three years.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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