Paparazzi take photographs. They are not, as far as I know, medically trained. It should be no great surprise, then, that their first reaction was to take photos rather than to help - it's what they do.

After all, these days Community Support Officers get away with not being reprimanded for failing to help save a drowning boy, so why should photographers be expected to know what to do for car crash victims?

This doesn't mean I condone what they did; on the contrary I think it was deplorable. I just think it was no great surprise.

Jon Burgess, Douglas, Isle of Man

It is dangerous to move people after a car accident without having qualified people on scene to make that call. But that is a whole world away from taking pictures of someone who is a) dying and b) unable to make the decision as to whether they want to be photographed.

These photographers may not have done anything legally wrong but surely a set of morals and decency would have stopped them from taking pictures.

Can we just get on with the inquest, find out that "special" people die in ordinary ways like the rest of us mere mortals and put this woman to rest for the sake of her childrens sanity.

Julia, Bristol,

the newspapermen who coldly and without no compassion
took photos of the Princess Diana as she lay bleeding and
dying should not be given the respect of being called human
or, even animals as even animals try to help each other when
in distress [ie. elephants].. I hope these same men or their
loved ones never have to suffer the same fate. Money will
never make you happy after all.

mrs linda horne , crewe, england

Gareth, others have said it quite well. SOMETHING can be done. Even if you're idiot enough to not know basic first aid (in which case you and your entire line should be slapped) you can still be human and comfort the injured and dying, be on the cell callling for help instead of on the cam profiteering.

Even vultures don't start in before the victims are dead.

jt, El Paso, TX

Samuel of Paris, it is not illegal (in the UK anyway) to take pics of someone dying (on the public Highway) but it is just not done, and if you tried the Police would send you away pronto . I am a news photographer and have attended 2 fatalities to day on the A9 in Scotland ( I have photographed around 100 Road Traffic Accidents on this route over the last 16 years) but there is no way we will take pictures of the vehicles with the people inside.

No newspaper would print them anyway.

If these guys did indeed snap away they are pretty disgraceful. As for first aid I have arrived at a crash scene occasionally before the emergency services and where the driver/passenger is not too badly injured will help where I can, but there is no way I can render assistance to someone seriously injured as It might make things worse.

Phil Hannah, Lochty, Scotland

Gareth Dowling - nobody is suggesting that the paps should have moved the injured victims. But surely common sense, decency and compassion would prevail in any normal person in that they would stay with and comfort such a person until the proper help arrived? And it's not true that the paps "did nothing" - they did plenty. They took monumental advantage of the situation by pointing their intrusive lenses into the heart of a scene of carnage in order to get the most gruesome - and therefore most profitable - images.

If they were close enough to photograph, they were close enough to comfort.

N Butler, London, UK

Gareth,

Surely stopping the flow of blood was one thing that they could have done.

ken, watford,

Although it is dangerous to move the victims, stopping any serious bleeding could save that person so standing by and just taking pictures is cold and irresponsible.

Paul Smith, Billerica, Ma, USA

Gareth, yes of course you are right. As unsavory as it may seem, the photographers might have done more harm than good, and even though taking pics of someone dying is not in good taste, it is probably not illegal. I say "probably" because in France, there a mandatory "Good Samaritian " law and perhaps the journalists could be found guilty of "non-assistance aux personnes en danger" ("failure to assist people in need of help"). This law applies even if you know nothing about administering first-aid.

The process is taking place in England (i believe) so we will see how the jury reacts.

Samuel Young, Paris, France

But taking photos of people in distress for gain whether famous or not sadly makes the photographers less than human.

Paul marko, Yeovil, UK

Considering that it is dangerous to move a crash victim without proper paramedic attention, it seems rather presumptuous of people to accuse the photographers of intentionally doing nothing. There was nothing they could do, and as usual people just want somebody to blame. Where Diana is concerned this desire is all the more hysterical.

Gareth Dowling, Belfast,