Prince Harry was snapped at a fancy dress party wearing a swastika armband. There was no official photographer present, he was caught by a fellow guest on a cell phone and that person sold the pictures. You would have thought that a prince would be safe at a private party given the sort of people who would have been invited.

At present, anyone who misbehaves is vulnerable to anyone with a cell phone. Most of us are not important enough to interest a national newspaper, but that amusing stunt you did at the office party could be posted on the Net. It could be by a colleague at work who regards you as a rival for the next promotion. It could be someone who simply does not like you.

In Britain, the only protection of privacy is under the Human Rights Act and that has yet to be tested in court. If Max wins, he will provide protection for us all.

One thing that bothers me is that the News of the World has never done investigative journalism. It has always relied on kiss and tell. On the Net, it advertises for information and cites the case of someone in a night spot who took pictures of a 'celebrity' behaving badly, the snitch was paid thousands.

At the end of the Screw's 'exclusive' on the F1 Big Four is an
Advertisement. Turn stories into ££££ See it. Snap it. Send it. Spend it. In other words, News Corps will pay you if you care to destroy social adhesion.

Max was entrapped. There has been a debate on a Pitpass forum as to the meaning of the word, with people quoting basic dictionaries, which are of little value. Under 'entrap', OED offers, as its first definition, 'to bring unawares into a position of difficulty or danger; to bring (a person) into one's power by artifice.'

To work from information published by the Screws. Max had long employed a prostitute, 'Mistress Switch', to set up fantasy sessions. She did this about four times a year. If someone had Max followed three months ago, they might have discovered he was into S&M and they might have tailed her. That sounds like an expensive operation.

Say that you, or I, paid regular visits to a prostitute, how would anyone find out? We would not advertise the fact and neither would she. You would not want your colleagues at work to know that you liked a tart to dress as a nurse and never you mind what I might like, it is none of your business. All I will say is that pantihose has done nothing for true love.

It is a possibility that someone was having Max tailed 24/7. He had his romps three or four times a year. That suggests he would have been tailed last year and 'Mistress Switch' was nobbled. The plot was a long time in the hatching and my guess is that big money was involved. Everything published by News of the World supports this speculation.

The prostitute was identified and leaned on, or bought, probably both. 'You are a divorced mother of two, would you like your neighbours to know what you do for a living? What will Social Services do about your children? On the other hand, here is a pile of cash to help you consider.'

Some of the tarts had cameras sewn into their bras, the apartment was wired for sound. Someone was out to get Max and while News Corps remains in the frame of speculation, it is not the only candidate. Remember, News of the World has never done serious investigative journalism, but it pays for scandal and advertises that it pays.

It was known in advance that Max would be in a certain place at a certain time, equipment was in place, 'Mistress Switch' was told the scenario and assembled a team. An American correspondent has pointed out that £2,500 is remarkably cheap for five prostitutes for five hours and wonders what else they were paid and who was paying them.

Max was photographed entering and leaving. He was wearing a coat as you might in March in London. For the Screws this became the raincoat associated with dirty old men. A £2 million riverside apartment in Chelsea became a 'dungeon', just as opinions have become 'demands'.

Formula One was dragged in because that is part of the work of the FIA. It is sexy. Man who improved safety standards of European cars does not have the same ring.

It is my guess that, if he plays things right, Max can survive the jokes and the scandal. He has broken no law and there is no proof that his S&M session was based on Nazi concentration camps. That is the interpretation put on his session by a newspaper which runs an 'exclusive' written by a hack who did not speak to the people he quoted.

To believe that Max played out sick Nazi fantasies is to believe the News of the World. If you do not, all he has done is to pay for sex and individuals are entitled to their opinions about men who hire prostitutes. For some people, that alone condemns him and I respect their opinion.

There was once a brothel near the Houses of Parliament and it was fitted with a bell to warn MPs when it was time to quit whoring and return to base to vote. One of the best exchanges in the House of Commons was when the Earl of Sandwich, he of butty fame, turned on the radical, John Wilkes, and said, 'You, sir, will die on the gallows or of the pox.' Wilkes replied, 'That depends, sir, whether I embrace your principles or your mistress.'

They don't come like that any more.