As Others See It: Those Pictures

'THE conduct of the proprietor of the gym should see him put on trial forthwith. What legal or moral code did he transgress by abusing the good faith of his client, violating her privacy for his own economic benefit? Every single one of them.

'His action was ethically repugnant and legally prosecutable. But it's unlikely he would have done it without the incentive of the sensationalist media, always ready to make juicy payouts for information without the slightest regard to the methods used to obtain it, not to mention its veracity.

'The reasons given by the Daily Mirror were mere pretexts. To say, as its editor did, that publication of the photos was in the public interest, by demonstrating a lapse in the Princess's security, is a clear exercise in cynicism aimed at disguising the true motive: to sell a few more thousand copies in the ferocious circulation war among the sensationalist press.

'Flagrant breaches of the principles of journalism, such as this one, cannot help but affect the credibility of the press as a whole, including that part of the media rigorous in the search for truth. The excesses of some could lead to restrictive laws for all.'

El Pais newspaper, Madrid.