Kate and Wills demand topless pic sneak faces jail

Brave face ... Kate in Solomon Islands garland yesterday

THE snapper who took topless photos of Prince William’s wife Kate is to be hunted down to face jail.

Lawyers acting for the Royal couple yesterday asked French prosecutors to bring in police.
The move came as photographer Valerie Suau, pronounced “Sewer”, went into hiding. She was named at an injunction hearing, detailing Kate’s agony, at a Paris court last night.

Lawyer ... Mr Hammelle

A decision on whether further publication of the photos is banned will be made at 11am today. Suau, an experienced Press photographer in her 40s, denies selling anything “explicit” to France’s Closer magazine, claiming the pictures she took of Kate were “all decent”.
But Royal investigators want to quiz her about the day she took the long lens snaps — and find out who else may have been snooping on the Duchess alongside her.
In a submission to prosecutors in Paris, Kate and William, both 30, demanded police find who took the photos. The criminal complaint was filed at the Paris Prosecutor’s office early yesterday afternoon. An investigation will now begin.
The snapper could face a year in jail alongside the editor of Closer, Laurence Pieau. The move came shortly before the Royal couple’s legal team went to court in Parisian suburb Nanterre last night.
Their lawyer Aurelien Hammelle asked for the injunction and said Closer bosses should also be fined.
But there were also claims last night that the snapper was a mysterious Parisian called “Jacques” — or a Scottish paparazzo. Other sources suggested Suau had done a deal with Closer to sell the pictures before denying she had taken them.

Kate baring up

From NICK PARKER in Paris and TOM MORGAN in the Solomon Isles
KATE and William were at the centre of more topless photos yesterday as they were greeted in the Solomon Islands by 60 bare-chested women.
The smiling Royal couple posed for the cameras alongside warrior women clad in only tree bark bracelets and banana leaf skirts.
The irony was not lost on good-humoured Kate, as one of the women draped a beaded necklace around her neck in welcome.

Greetings ... Kate meets bare-breasted women

Splash

The cheery scenes were in contrast to the solemn atmosphere in a French court yesterday as the Royals began a legal battle against Closer magazine for publishing topless photos of Kate.
Their French lawyer Aurelien Hammelle said Kate had been “violated” and added: “She is a young woman not an object.”
He drew a parallel between the gross intrusion on Kate’s privacy and the hounding of Princess Diana, who died in 1997 in a Paris car crash while being chased by photographers.

Boat ride ... Kate and Wills

Mr Hammelle added: “The humiliation of the Duchess has evoked memories of the tragedy of Princess Diana.” He said the photos were taken “just six days after the 15th anniversary of the useless, cynical and morbid hunt which led to the death of William’s mother”.
Mr Hammelle added that the pictures — snapped as Kate sunbathed at Lord Linley’s French Chateau — showed “a highly intimate moment during a scene of married life and have no place on the cover of a magazine”.

Warriors ... in canoe disguised as a shark

The Royals’ legal team have asked the court to impose an injunction ensuring no further publication of the pictures. A decision will be announced at 11am today.
Lawyers also yesterday submitted a criminal complaint to Paris prosecutors over the breach of privacy.

Pictures ... Italian mag

If they decide to press charges, the editor of Closer and the photographer could face jail and a fine of up to £36,000. A criminal hearing would not take place for many months. Mr Hammelle told the court in the Paris suburb of Nanterre the nearest road to Lord Linley’s chateau in Provence was 1,968ft away.
He said it would have been impossible to view Kate without a long lens. Mr Hammelle told the judget: “They (the magazine) shared, without her consent, a private moment of intimacy.” But Delphine Pando, representing Closer, insisted the property was visible.
William and Kate have instructed Mr Hammelle to press for “the stiffest punishment possible.” They have also indicated they are willing to appear in court.
Meanwhile Closer’s Italian sister magazine Chi published the same pictures — plus an unseen image.
The editor of the Irish Daily Star was yesterday suspended over his decision to carry a picture of Closer’s front page without obscuring the topless shot of Kate.

Cheerful ... Kate smiles at statue of woman

Back in the Solomon Islands Kate and William continued to put on a brave face yesterday.
They arrived in Tavanipupu aboard a traditional war boat flanked by three warriors in a canoe disguised as a shark.
The couple were garlanded with traditional jewellery and Kate was crowned with a floral headdress.

Smiles better ... happy Kate waves to fans

- MORE than eight in ten people think it was wrong to publish Kate’s pictures, a Sun poll found