Prince Harry and a girl cavorting naked.

MPs back Sun over Prince Harry pic

Publishing nude hotel snap 'in the public interest'

Harry ... Sun front page

MPs backed The Sun last night after we published controversial pictures of Prince Harry and a girl cavorting naked.

We defied warnings from Palace lawyers who wanted to suppress the snaps taken of Army officer Harry, 27, in a Las Vegas hotel room.
Tory MP Damian Collins, a member of the influential parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport select committee, said: “There’s a clear public interest in the Vegas pics.

Support ... Louise Mensch

“Harry is a senior royal. There is a public interest in his judgment and in his safety.”
Tory Louise Mensch, who is also on the committee, said: “The Sun was right to publish. There is a clear public interest. The Royal Family receives money from the Civil List.
“And in inviting people to his room, Harry did not have the expectation of privacy.”
The Sun was the only British newspaper to print the photos — widely published abroad and online — after royal pressure on the media via the Press Complaints Commission.
Ms Mensch said: “We cannot have our press scared to publish things that are in the public interest. Someone, a total stranger, took those photos — and honeytraps have happened.”
She added: “It won’t do Prince Harry any harm — we all like and support Harry.”
Labour MP John Mann said: “It has to be left to the editor’s judgment. The press must always be bold. Nobody can suggest this was media intrusion.”

No need for fuss ... Simon Carr

SWNS

A poll by radio station LBC showed 80 per cent of listeners backed The Sun’s stance in the name of press freedom. Most ordinary people took that view — and supported Harry’s right to enjoy himself. Student Tom Treherne, 19, of Cambridge, said: “If he wants to get naked, that’s up to him. And the papers have a right to publish the pictures.”
Builder Simon Carr, 31, of Bristol, said: “It was already online, I don’t see the big fuss.”
Shannon Langley, 18, of Newcastle, added: “I was interested in the pictures. Just because Harry’s royal, it doesn’t mean he can’t have fun.” The Met said third-in-line to the throne Harry’s police minders will not be carpeted for allowing the jokey snaps during a party game of strip pool.
He faces talks with dad Prince Charles about the snaps this weekend.
The PCC had 850 complaints about the photos. None came from the Royal Family.