Earl Spencer: rounded on press intrusion in his funeral tribute

Press Impose New Standards on Royal Reporting

Their announcements appear to be a direct response to the criticism of the media by Earl Spencer at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.

In the course of his tribute to his late sister, he accused the press of turning her into the most hunted person of the modern age.

"The Press, privacy and responsiblity" - Express comment in preparation

In Tuesday's Express, the editor, Richard Addis, makes four proposals to tighten the industry's code of practice and commits his paper to acting on them immediately.

He says it will publish pictures of Princes William and Harry only with the approval of their guardians and no paparazzi pictures at all will be published.

"There are great complications in the definition of what is a paparazzi picture," he says. "Our working definition is that they are pictures taken by the specialist band of freelance cameramen whose stock in trade is to snatch celebrity photographs often after prolonged pursuit and harassment."

Freelance photographs will be published only if the suppliers can show they comply with the newspaper's code of practice which says they will not take long lens pictures of people on private property without their consent unless it is strictly in the public interest.

The definition of "private property" is extended to include places where people clearly believe they are alone even though they do not own the actual location.

The Independent and the Sun said on Monday that they would avoid pictures of the young princes taken in private. And the owner of the Mail group said his papers would not buy pictures taken by paparazzi.

The Independent's front page editorial

Andrew Marr on Today: clarifying a "fuzzy, vague" policy Dur: 3'29""

The Independent editor, Andrew Marr, announced in a front-page editorial that the paper will never again carry photographs of the young Princes in private situations.

"If we are not all sadder and wiser, we damned well ought to be. The hunt became a blood sport. The quarry dead, let us find gentler pursuits," the editorial says.

Two years ago, when Prince William first went to Eton, the Press Complaints Commission urged newspapers to respect his privacy. It is generally agreed that they have done so, as a result of which many of the paparazzi, who once surrounded the College, have gone away.

This latest announcement represents a clarification of that position. The Sun says it has no intention of carrying photographs which invade the princes' privacy. The Independent says it may not even carry publicity photographs organised by Buckingham Palace which the Royal Family would be keen to see published.

The Daily Mail says no paparazzi pictures will be bought without the consent of its proprietor, Viscount Rothermere.

Writing in his paper, Lord Rothermere says his action was prompted by Lord Spencer's strong words and his own sense of outrage.

In an editorial, the Daily Mirror says Lord Spencer was right and it promises to work swiftly with the Press Complaints Commission to protect the boys from intrusive paparazzi photography.