The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were left shaken up after being followed by paparazzi through New York City in a “frightening” and “reckless” pursuit, the security chief responsible for their transport has said.
Tom Buda, president of Buda Security, conceded the pursuit was not high speed but did put the couple in danger in an interview with US broadcaster NBC News.
Harry and Meghan, and the duchess’s mother, said on Wednesday they were involved in a “near catastrophic” two-hour car chase after being followed by “a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi”.
The episode, which recalls the death of Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who was killed when her car crashed as it was followed by paparazzi in Paris in 1997, is said to have happened after the three attended an awards ceremony on Tuesday.
The account has been disputed, however, with police confirming there had been no reported collisions, injuries or arrests, and one photo agency denying the paparazzi behaved aggressively, even suggesting the Sussexes’ vehicle was driven erratically. A taxi driver briefly involved has also cast doubt on the couple’s statement.
However, on Thursday, Buda told NBC the group of photographers pursuing them were “driving aggressively and badly”. He added that they were “following us to find out where we were staying”. He added that some cars were trying to leapfrog them and two cars ahead were working to slow traffic down.
Although it “was not a high speed pursuit”, Buda said “it was reckless by them”. He added that they went to the NYPD’s 19th precinct station.
The couple’s claims were disputed by one of the picture agencies, Backgrid USA, which said in a statement it had received photos and videos from four freelance photographers.
“They had no intention of causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras. A few of the photos even show Meghan Markle smiling inside a cab,” the statement said.
“The photographers report that one of the four SUVs from Prince Harry’s security escort was driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless,” it added.
A former bodyguard of Harry has said the Sussexes’ security should have been “properly stage-managed”.
“The protection team he has got at the moment has never dealt with such a high-profile celebrity as Harry and Meghan,” Ken Wharfe told ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday, adding he had some sympathy for the couple.
“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,” he said.
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