World famous singer and songwriter Adele, who fiercely objected to her two-year-old son being snapped by ‘paparazzi’ photographers, has sent a warning to the British press after the toddler won damages from a well-known photographic agency.
Although thankful to the public and press for her rise to stardom, Adele was adamant that her son, Angelo, ‘must never be public property’. She and Angelo’s father, Simon Konecki, launched legal action against the Splash News and Picture Agency after pictures were circulated to the press of the little boy with his mother.
The singer’s legal team argued that the images were of routine, everyday family occasions which paparazzi had no right to intrude upon, profit from and file away in picture libraries for future reference and use. In the interests of settling the dispute amicably, Splash agreed to pay Angelo damages and his legal costs.
The agency had also agreed to make no further use of the contentious photos and to name the paparazzi who took them. The family’s solicitors had since contacted individual photographers and warned them that further use of the snaps would result in legal action for violation of privacy and data protection laws.
A High Court judge was told that Adele and Mr Konecki would continue to do all they could to protect Angelo’s rights, including taking legal action where necessary, and that the damages would be held on trust for that purpose. They would also continue to campaign for tougher laws relating to paparazzi and children generally.
