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Newspaper withdraws prince photo Prince photo prompts media plea
(about 3 hours later)
A picture of Prince William and Kate Middleton has been withdrawn by the Daily Mail amid claims the pair were pursued "aggressively" by paparazzi. Britain's press watchdog must ensure the media do not harass royals, the chairman of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has said.
The photo, of the pair in a car after a night out, was printed by its sister paper, London's Evening Standard. It comes after Prince William and Kate Middleton were allegedly pursued "aggressively" by paparazzi.
The Mail substituted the paparazzi picture with a shot of the prince and Miss Middleton watching rugby. Tory MP John Whittingdale said the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) must make it "absolutely clear" that photos are not be obtained by harassment.
The incident has prompted the Press Complaints Commission to warn editors against photos obtained by harassment. London's Evening Standard carried a photo of the couple after a night out.
Prince William and Ms Middleton, who have rekindled their relationship after splitting up briefly in April, were leaving the Boujis nightclub in London during the early hours of Friday morning when the photograph was taken.Prince William and Ms Middleton, who have rekindled their relationship after splitting up briefly in April, were leaving the Boujis nightclub in London during the early hours of Friday morning when the photograph was taken.
'Threatening behaviour' 'Left concerned'
Both the Daily Mirror and the Standard's sister paper, the Daily Mail, chose not to use the image.
The incident has prompted the PCC to warn editors against photos obtained by harassment.
In a statement, it said that while freelance photographers were not directly regulated by the organisation, editors must not publish photographs which were taken through harassment.
Mr Whittingdale told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: "The Press Complaints Commission needs to talk to the editors and make it absolutely clear that they should not use any pictures that were taken by means of harassment of the couple.
"That needs to be a generally agreed statement that the press make."
Clarence House officials said the prince was "left concerned" after he and Miss Middleton were "aggressively" pursued.Clarence House officials said the prince was "left concerned" after he and Miss Middleton were "aggressively" pursued.
William's spokesman said the events were "incomprehensible" at this time. 'Civilised and controlled'
Prince William's spokesman said the events were "incomprehensible" at this time.
This week saw the start of an inquest into the death of William's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, whose car crashed in Paris in 1997 as she was being followed by photographers.This week saw the start of an inquest into the death of William's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, whose car crashed in Paris in 1997 as she was being followed by photographers.
The Daily Mirror has also not published the pictures. The Sun said it was using pictures taken while the couple were in their car but before the alleged pursuit. Alessandro Copetti, who took the picture published in the Evening Standard, defended his conduct, saying the image had been taken "in a civilised and controlled manner".
Paddy Harverson, the prince's spokesman, said on Friday: "Prince William was concerned by the threatening behaviour of the paparazzi in London last night. He said that the prince's car was only followed when it returned to the club shortly after leaving.
"Having already been photographed leaving the club, he and Kate Middleton were then pursued in his car by photographers on motorcycles, in vehicles and on foot. It seems incomprehensible, particularly at this time, that this behaviour is still going on Paddy HarversonPrince William's spokesman
Mr Copetti told BBC Radio Five Live: "I took the pictures like I normally do, outside a nightclub when the car was still, stopped outside a nightclub, took them from the front of the window, nobody tried to stop me.
"There were two security guys, one driving, one sitting in front, nobody tried to stop me."
On Friday, Paddy Harverson, the prince's spokesman, said William had been "concerned by the threatening behaviour of the paparazzi".
"Having already been photographed leaving the club, he and Kate Middleton were then pursued in his car by photographers on motorcycles, in vehicles and on foot," said the spokesman.
"The aggressive pursuit was potentially dangerous and worrying for them. It seems incomprehensible, particularly at this time, that this behaviour is still going on.""The aggressive pursuit was potentially dangerous and worrying for them. It seems incomprehensible, particularly at this time, that this behaviour is still going on."
'Safety of individuals' Diana inquest
In a statement the Press Complaints Commission said that while freelance photographers were not directly regulated by the organisation, editors must not publish photographs which were taken through harassment. The Press Complaints Commission acknowledged that it can "be difficult for editors to establish the exact circumstances in which a photograph is taken.
It said: "It can of course be difficult for editors to establish the exact circumstances in which a photograph is taken.
"But it is of the utmost importance not to use photographs which have been taken in a manner that may have compromised the safety of individuals, which may include pursuit in vehicles.""But it is of the utmost importance not to use photographs which have been taken in a manner that may have compromised the safety of individuals, which may include pursuit in vehicles."
Alessandro Copetti, who took the picture published in the Evening Standard, said the prince's car was only followed when it returned to the club shortly after leaving.
"The car stood there for a few seconds then departed, then left," he told BBC Radio Five Live.
If this is the first time they've been together for months, you know there's going to be considerable interest Publicist Max Clifford
"Then the car disappeared, nobody chased, nobody followed. Then four minutes or five minutes later the car comes back and drives slowly in front of about the same amount of photographers so some people made the wrong choice to start chasing."
The publicist Max Clifford told BBC News 24 it would have been better for the couple to have avoided confrontation by posing for the photographers.
"If this is the first time they've been together for months, you know there's going to be considerable interest," he said.
"They know that they're going to be photographed when they come out. So, they stand for five minutes and pose for pictures.
"Everybody's got their pictures - nice pictures, relaxed pictures - they go away, because they don't need to chase them," Mr Clifford added.
The prince and Miss Middleton met while at St Andrews University.The prince and Miss Middleton met while at St Andrews University.
The inquest into the deaths of Princess Diana and her companion Dodi Al Fayed began on Tuesday at the High Court.The inquest into the deaths of Princess Diana and her companion Dodi Al Fayed began on Tuesday at the High Court.
The jury has heard how several photographers pursued the princess's Mercedes prior to the fatal crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel, which killed her, Mr Al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul.The jury has heard how several photographers pursued the princess's Mercedes prior to the fatal crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel, which killed her, Mr Al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul.