Privacy and Injunctions - Evidence - Parliament

Trinity Mirror plc, and Richard Wallace, editor, Daily Mirror—Oral evidence (QQ 1233–
1305)
Q141 Nadhim Zahawi: In what way? Where have they helped? Name one
example where they have used their children to enhance their brand.
Marcus Partington: David Beckham took his children onto the pitch at a Real
Madrid game deliberately so that they could be photographed together, the whole family—
just the children and him. Victoria Beckham took her children onto the stage when Girls
Aloud played in The O2.
Richard Wallace: The Spice Girls.
Marcus Partington: The Spice Girls, sorry. I cannot remember the date, but those
are the two that come to mind. Could I just stress, because you are looking at me with
puzzlement, I am not suggesting that the Beckhams are in the same—
Q142 Nadhim Zahawi: You did suggest that to Lord Hollick’s questioning. You
lumped them together.
Marcus Partington: If I did, I am sorry about that. I meant that those were two
examples of people who have taken different attitudes with their children. I do not think the
Beckhams are the same as Katie Price, but I do think they have taken a different attitude to
the privacy of their children than, for example, JK Rowling.
Q143 Nadhim Zahawi: So Mr Wallace, you think they have commoditised their
children? That is what you just said a minute ago.
Richard Wallace: Yes. There is a gradient to these things, exactly as I said in my
earlier answer. Katie Price’s attitude to the commoditisation of her children is a great deal
more than the Beckhams’, but it is not a black and white issue.
Lord Gold: Of course, the children did not have anything to do with it, did they?
You are punishing the parents. The children are sort of carried along.
Q144 Nadhim Zahawi: If the children asked to be on stage because they are
having a good day out, that gives you an excuse to use that as a way of commoditising them?
Paul Vickers: I think you need to come back to what use, if that is the right word, is
made of the children. The only thing that happens to the Beckham children is that their
photographs may occasionally be published. Where JK Rowling is concerned, she does not
want her children to be photographed, so they are not. The Beckhams are quite clearly
happy for their children to be photographed, so often they are. That is the only difference
we are talking about. The children are not being punished or in any way exposed to some
horrors; it is just that their photographs may be used when photographs of JK Rowling’s and
other celebrities’ children will not be.
Richard Wallace: On that particular point, because the Beckhams always attract a
lot of attention at airports, in particular Los Angeles airport, if there are pictures that come
in where there is clearly distress, then they are of course not used.
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