A photographer involved in the alleged "near catastrophic" car chase with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan through the streets of New York has spoken out to deny they were driving fast.
Talking to Good Morning Britain’s chief correspondent Richard Gaisford, the photographer - who wanted to remain anonymous - said,: "Last night after leaving the theatre, there were hopes from me and a few other photographers that maybe they would go to a restaurant.
"For the most part, I was driving and it was very tense trying to keep up with the vehicles. They did a lot of blocking and there was a lot of different type of manoeuvres to stop what was happening."
He continued, “Their driver was making it a catastrophic experience… if they were going 80mph, I would probably have been going 20mph behind them and hoping to keep sight of them. So if it was dangerous and catastrophic, it was more than likely based on the person that was driving versus anyone else.”
He added, “The driver wanted to drive fast, cut through lanes and do this and do that, go the wrong way, I had no control over any of that. It was too much. I don’t like the idea of high speed chases - going from across town to this town.”
In a statement released yesterday, the Sussexes spokesperson said, “Last night, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers.
“While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety.”
The Duke of Sussex's security should have been "properly stage managed", his former bodyguard told the programme on Thursday morning.
Ken Wharfe told GMB: "The protection team he has got at the moment has never dealt with such a high-profile celebrity as Harry and Meghan.
"To them, I have some sympathy. The whole point is you have to take advice on this, and I don't know to what extent the New York Police Department were involved, but basically it's something that needs to be properly stage managed.
"I will make the point here from my own experience ... the paparazzi, at best, can be talked to, but at worst they're a nuisance.
"But they're not out to cause the death of any one person. So, I think we have to be a little bit careful there."
MP Jess Phillips said on Twitter: "I suspect there is little good faith on the subject but if my mother had been killed in a paparazzi chase when I was a child I suspect I may have a different perception (trauma response) to a similar event occurring, than others.
"Things that seem completely inane to others can really scare me since my friend was killed for doing our job. Hyper vigilance is a curse as well as a protection."
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