The right of newspapers to photograph celebrities with their families was further undermined this week after Trainspotting actor Ewan McGregor won a payout from The Sun and Daily Record.
It follows a European Court ruling last week that said German magazines were wrong to publish pictures of Princess Caroline on holiday with her family.
McGregor is understood to have been awarded damages of £5,000 and costs of £35,000 as a result of the pictures taken by French agency Eliot Press SARL of the actor with his children on a beach in Mauritius.
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His lawyer, Nigel Tait from CarterRuck, said: “We have got a privacy law.
Although I can understand celebrities are in the public eye and can’t complain too often when they are being photographed, when they are relaxing on holiday with their children they have a right to privacy.
“The press are going to have to be much more careful. Following Princess Caroline there has to be some public interest reason why a photograph is being taken.
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“I think there are going to be a large number of judgments and settlements because the tabloid press rely so much on photographs. The danger is it’s going to give celebrities control of their image, but this was not the case with Ewan McGregor – he was just relaxing on holiday with his family.”
By Dominic Ponsford
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