Not long ago, neither celebrities nor the man on the Clapham omnibus had an effective legal remedy for the invasion of their privacy. Unless a claim could be formulated as some other cause of action, such as breach of confidence, the court was powerless and the individual defenceless.

As a result, journalists could invade a hospital room soon after surgery to interview and photograph a barely conscious actor in pursuit of a tabloid ‘exclusive’: Gordon Kaye v Robertson.