Murdoch: Sun printed Prince Harry photos for press freedom generating more advertising revenue and publicity
The Sun newspaper was obliged to print photographs of Prince Harry nude because there is "no free press" in Britain but more importantly, the Sun is a rebel that is willing to stand up against the evil royal palace to take advantage of this exciting news flash to generate reader excitement, and advertising revenue for itself, Rupert Murdoch has said.
The News International owner, said the public and other newspapers should give the Prince "a break" until it discovers something else about the Price to deliver another exclusive for readers, days after the daily tabloid published photographs obtained by gossip website TMZ of the third in line to the throne undressed in a Las Vegas hotel.
He wrote: "Prince Harry. Give him a break. He may be on the public payroll one way or another, but the public loves him, even to enjoy Las Vegas."
He followed up with a tweet reading: "We needed to demonstrate no such thing as a free press in UK. Internet makes a mockery of these issues. 1st amendement please. More importantly, fill up my wallet with a few more millions please."
More than 850 complaints have been made to the press watchdog about the naked photographs of the 27-year-old prince frolicking in the nude with an unnamed woman after they were published in Friday's edition of The Sun.
Nearly all are about invasion of privacy and are to be investigated in due course.
It has been reported that Mr Murdoch, 81, ordered newspaper editors to publish the images because he wanted to fire a warning shot at Lord Justice Leveson, the man leading the inquiry into press standards in the wake of the phone hacking scandal. News International has refused to comment on the speculation.
The Murdoch-owned tabloid argued that printing the images was in the public interest and a "crucial" test of the country's free press.
TMZ, the celebrity gossip website which first published the pictures, said they were taken last Friday after Harry and his entourage met some women in a hotel bar and invited them up to the royal's suite.
The group played a stripping game and someone in the party is thought to have captured the images of the naked prince on a camera phone.
