Kate Doesn't Deserve this Press-Pack Pressure
Evening Standard
As a staunch republican, I am not generally a defender of royalty. But in the current controversy over media harassment of Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton , I am firmly on her side.
One of the most terrifying moments of my life occurred when I woke up on the Sunday morning that the press broke the story of my choice of (private) school for my son. I looked out of my bedroom window and discovered half a dozen press photographers camped outside my house. I felt trapped. And, as day turned to evening and the photographers settled down for the night, I panicked. Because it was clear that what they really wanted was a photograph of my 11-year-old son going to school the following morning, blinking in the light of their flashbulbs. So I have some idea of how Kate Middleton must feel to wake up every morning and find 30 photographers waiting outside her house. If they were not armed with cameras, they would be prosecuted for stalking. But somehow being a press photographer gives you a licence to harass other people (and their children).
Some commentators are calling for better police protection for Miss Middleton. Some newspapers have offered to stop publishing paparazzi shots of her. And the Press Complaints Commission was indicated that it would be supportive of any official complaint. None of this is good enough. In my case, I was eventually able to get the various news editors to pull their photographers off by ringing around and reminding them of the PCC code which says that children should not be photographed without their parent's consent. But the onus should not have been on me. Many journalists like a voluntary code because it enables them to flout it whenever it suits them. But the PCC code needs to be replaced by a proper privacy law.
Such a law should give journalists the utmost latitude to investigate financial and criminal wrongdoings. But people's children and families should be protected from intrusion. And it should be illegal to publish or commission photographs of people (even in a public place) without their permission, unless there are allegations of criminality or some other clear public interest. Some people argue that if you are in public life you must accept press scrutiny. This is perfectly true. But the paparazzi pack are not engaged in scrutiny for the greater public good, merely mindless harassment for money. They played their part in the death of Princess Diana. A legal crackdown is long overdue.
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