Curbs on press to protect Princes
By Alison Boshoff, Media Correspondent
97/9/8
PRINCES William and Harry are to be offered increased protection from the attentions of the press within the next few months. Earl Spencer's tribute to the Princess on Saturday and concerns expressed yesterday by the Prince of Wales have focused intense pressure on the media to change the way that they report on the Royal Family.
A spokesman for the Prince of Wales appealed yesterday for "time and space" for the young Princes, calling on the media to stay away from Eton and Ludgrove when they return to school later this month. He said: "The last thing they need is to face a blast of flashguns when they go back to school. The Prince of Wales wants some time and space for the boys so that they can come to terms with their loss and prepare for the future."
Tony Blair called for a re-assessment of the "proper boundaries" of reporting following the Princess's death. Sources at the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) said that its code of practice would be overhauled as a matter of urgency.
New sections may be drafted, including one that would protect the children of famous people into adulthood. Sources at the PCC said last night that this new section about the children of famous people would extend the protection currently offered to the Princes under section 12 of the code, entitled Interviewing or Photographing Children.
Its terms, which forbid interviews or photographs without permission, lapse on a child's 16th birthday. Prince William will be 16 next summer. In any case, the section protects the Princes from photographers only while they are on school premises.
Lord Wakeham is said to be "extremely concerned" about what will happen as the Princes pass the age of 16, and is determined to act decisively while public opinion is at its height. He is also thought to want to extend the scope of the protection so that the Princes are able to take family holidays and appear at non-official functions without being overwhelmed by press interest.
A source said: "Protecting the Princes was high on the agenda before the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Now it is a priority and some measures will probably follow within weeks."
Officially, Lord Wakeham would only concede that the PCC's Code of Practice "might change" after consultations with editors. Other measures being considered are a blanket ban on the use of paparazzi photographs and a clause which would force newspapers to publish the names of paparazzi and explain the circumstances surrounding any pictures they used.
The preamble to the code, which says editors must "satisfy themselves as far as possible" that freelance journalists supplying them with information or photographs have complied with the code may also be strengthened.
However, sources at the PCC stressed that the question of intrusion went beyond the use of paparazzi photographs and included the issues of speculation in print about the Princes and even the semi-official photocalls at school, which the Palace have in the past agreed to. These sessions, known to discomfit the boys, are widely expected to be scrapped.
The PCC's code committee will meet to consider these proposals - and perhaps other ones too - on September 17. The editors of newspapers will be questioned by Lord Wakeham before then. One of the earliest stumbling blocks, said a source, is the definition of a paparazzi photographer.
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