Threat To Close Irish Star Over Topless Pics Of Kate Middleton

The British co-owners of the Irish Daily Star threatened to take immediate steps to close the venture on Saturday, after the newspaper published the topless photos of Kate Middleton taken by a French magazine.

The Irish Star, which employs between 70 and 100 people in Dublin, was the only newspaper in the UK or Ireland to break ranks and publish the photos.

Editor Michael O'Kane defended his decision saying he was treating Kate Middleton the same as any other celebrity.

"The Duchess would be no different to any other celeb pics we would get in, for example Rihanna or Lady Gaga. She's not the future Queen of Ireland, so really the only place this is causing fury seems to be in the UK," he said.

"I'm absolutely stunned that Kate Middleton would think, her being the most photographed woman in the world, I think one of the most famous people in the world, that she would expose herself topless, outdoors, and not expect the world to take notice of it."

Mr O'Kane said he printed the controversial photographs as a service to his readers.

An Italian magazine also planned to print the photographs.

Alfonso Signorini, Chi magazine's editor, said: "I am publishing them because this is a scoop. This is the first time that the future queen of England has been seen topless.

"These photos are not scandalous; they are natural and they do nothing bad to damage her image. If anything, they make her more likeable, more modern."

The original publication by French magazine Closer caused outrage in Britain, where the tabloid press is under unprecedented scrutiny following the Leveson inquiry into phone hacking and other press behavior.

Media mogul Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell, who co-owns the Star with the Irish group Independent News & Media tried to distance himself from the decision.

"We abhor the decision of the Irish Daily Star to publish these intrusive pictures of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, which we, like St James's Palace, believe to be a grotesque invasion of their privacy," he said.

"The Irish Daily Star is a joint venture with Independent News & Media over which we have no editorial control.

"We were not given advance notice of the decision to publish these pictures by their management and we are consulting with our lawyers as a matter of urgency over what we believe to be a serious breach of their contract."

Independent News and Media apologized too, saying the decision to publish the photos was "regrettable and in poor taste."

But INM said it would be doing everything in our power to safeguard the 70 jobs at the Irish Daily Star.

However, INM is already in deep financial trouble and may not be able to afford to buy Richard Desmond's stake in the company.

In Ireland the National Union of Journalists described threats by Desmond to close the paper was an over the top knee jerk reaction.

"There is grave concern among the Irish staff of The Star about the future. There is panic, fear, anger throughout the staff," said Seamus Dooley of the NUJ.

"From what we can gather Desmond is serious about pulling out of the Irish operation. He might see this as a chance to paint himself in a good light with the establishment in Britain especially in the context of the Leveson inquiry."

It's understood that Desmond, who made his fortune through soft-porn channels on digital television and also owns celebrity magazine OK and British newspapers The Daily Star and The Express, may have been looking for a reason to exit the Irish market anyway.

One option may be not allowing the Star to use the Daily Star's title in Ireland.

The Irish Star publishes substantial amounts of UK-generated material particularly when it comes to sport on entertainment.

However, it has a roster of fine Irish journalists covering news, politics and crime.