Letter: Ex-PM John Major Pleads For Privacy For Kate Middleton (January 2007)
Written by Joanne Leyland
Thursday, 11 January 2007
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THE FULL LETTER TO THE TIMES FROM EX-PRIME MINISTER JOHN MAJOR REGARDING THE MEDIA PURSUIT OF KATE MIDDLETON:
(Published: 11th January 2007)
"Sir, I was dismayed to see television pictures of photographers in persistent pursuit of Kate Middleton, so eerily reminiscent of those who haunted the life of Diana, Princess of Wales."
"Ten years on from the tragic death of the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry — and in the midst of the inquest into the circumstances surrounding it — it seems that we have learnt nothing."
"Chance brought Prince William and Kate Middleton together. So far as I am aware, Kate Middleton has never sought publicity for either personal or professional gain. It is grotesque that, because of her relationship with Prince William, she should have to endure such an invasion of her privacy."
"We are told that laws exist to prevent such intolerable behaviour. If so, they are not effective. We are told that further laws could be introduced to tighten up that existing legislation. This is sheer bunkum. Must everything be done by legislation? Whatever happened to common decency?"
"There is one sure way to put an immediate end to this hunting down of private citizens, and that is for the proprietors and editors of all British newspapers to state that they will no longer buy or print any photograph taken without the knowledge and consent of their quarry."
"Rupert Murdoch has instructed his UK newspapers accordingly, and I commend him for this. I hope that other proprietors and editors will follow suit. No public — or private — figure should be pursued down British streets against their will, nor should their homes be besieged."
