Prince William has expressed concern after he and Kate Middleton were “aggressively” pursued in their car by paparazzi, Clarence House has said.

William had been “left concerned” by the “threatening behaviour” of some photographers as the couple left a London nightclub, his official spokesman Paddy Harverson said yesterday. The events seemed incomprehensible at a time when the inquest over the death of the Prince’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, had just begun, Mr Harverson added.

He said: “Having already been photographed leaving the club, he and Kate Middleton were then pursued in his car by photographers on motorcycles, in vehicles and on foot.

“The aggressive pursuit was potentially dangerous and worrying for them. It seems incomprehensible, particularly at this time, that this behaviour is still going on.”

The Princess died in Paris in 1997 when the car in which she was travelling crashed, with photographers in pursuit. The inquest, and that of her companion Dodi Fayed, began this week at the Royal Courts of Justice.

The Prince and Miss Middleton, who have rekindled their relationship after splitting up earlier this year, were leaving Boujis nightclub, in South Kensington, early yesterday morning. The images of the couple, who are both 25, were the first of them out on the town together since they broke up in April.

Even during their brief separation, Miss Middleton was pursued by photographers, and comparisons were drawn with press interest in the young Lady Diana Spencer.

After William and Miss Middleton resumed their relationship they had managed to keep a relatively low profile until this week’s encounter with the paparazzi.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Press Complaints Commission warned the media against publishing images that had been obtained by harassing the Prince and Miss Middleton: “While freelance photographers are not directly regulated by the Press Complaints Commission, newspaper and magazine editors who are must take care not to publish photographs which are taken as a result of harassment. It can of course be difficult for editors to establish the exact circumstances in which a photograph is taken.

“But it is of the utmost importance not to use photographs which have been taken in a manner that may have compromised the safety of individuals, which may include pursuit in vehicles.”

On Thursday at the inquests, closed-circuit television footage was released that showed the crowds of paparazzi outside the Paris Ritz, from where the Princess set out on her final journey with Mr Fayed.

The jury has been told that photographers pursued the Mercedes before the fatal crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel.

At the recent memorial service held for the tenth anniversary of their mother’s death, William’s brother, Prince Harry, described the impact that it had had on them: “To lose a parent so suddenly at such a young age, as others have experienced, is indescribably shocking and sad. It was an event which changed our lives forever as it must have done for anyone who lost someone that night.”

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