Kate's privacy hearing

Mar 7, 2007, 14:00 GMT

Kate Middleton, the girlfriend of Britain's Prince William, will be protected from "hounding" by the paparazzi, but not if she chooses to go to showbiz places.

Sir Christopher Meyer, chairman of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), said although he had requested the press stop hounding Kate outside her home and in private places, she could not expect the same protection if she chose to frequent popular celebrity haunts.

The chairman told Members of Parliament sitting on the Culture, Media and Sports select committee yesterday (06.03.07): "Going to a very pubic nightclub where you know paparazzi are there you know what you are doing and what you are going into and you know that celebrities go there to be photographed, that's a different order of things."

However, MP Nigel Evans said Kate needed security as she was likely to become Britain's queen one day.

He told the committee: "This girl deserves proper police protection to guard her against the terrorist threat."

The hearing took place to discuss the issue of Kate's personal safety, since she has become the subject of increasing media attention over the past year.

Concerns were raised when Kate's 25th birthday in January attracted a "feeding frenzy" of photographers.

Prince William, 24, expressed fears that she could face the same plight as his tragic mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash while being pursued by paparazzi in Paris ten years ago.

Royal photographer Arthur Edwards for Britain's The Sun newspaper was among those who gave evidence at the hearing, saying he had not wanted to be any part of the "hounding" of Kate.

Along with a number of newspapers, The Sun agreed not to publish photos of Kate taken by pushy paparazzi earlier this year.

(C) BANG Media International