Lobe blow
Sir: Charles Moore writes that he 'cannot see why it is wrong for the Daily Mirror to spy on the Princess 'in the gym' but right for the Sunday Times to spy on the state of her marriage' (Another voice, 13 Novem- ber). 1 was not aware that the editor of the Sunday Telegraph had recently undergone a frontal lobotomy; but on the asumption that at least part of his brain is still func- tioning let me adumbrate a few of the many differences: The Sunday Times serialisation of Andrew Morton's book did not break the industry's code of conduct; the Mirror's pic- tures did. The pictures published with our serialisation were made available by Princess Diana herself from her own family scrap book. No hidden cameras were neces- sary. The Princess knew her friends were speaking frankly to Mr Morton about the state of her marriage. She did nothing to stop it; she may even have encouraged it. She knew nothing about the pictures in the gym. The Morton book's accurate — and subsequently vindicated — account of the deteriorating marriage of the heir to the throne was a matter of substantial public interest: it created a crisis for the royal fam- ily and began a debate, in which Mr Moore has participated, about the future of the monarchy, which still resonates. There was no public interest justification for what the Mirror did to the Princess. Mr Morton was subsequently awarded 'Scoop of the Year' by Lord McGregor of the PCC. The Sunday Times broke no laws in serialising his book. The Mirror faces a gruelling and costly liti- gation from the most popular woman in the land.
In his present distressed state I hope none of the above is too difficult for Mr Moore to follow.
Andrew Neil
The Sunday Times, 1 Pennington Street, London El
Previous page
