Posting pics of your children should be made illegal, says Romola

FASHION designer Stella McCartney is said to be ‘furious’ that her friends the Beckhams posted a photograph online of her six-year-old daughter attending a children’s party at Buckingham Palace.

Actress Romola Garai has gone even further and called on parents to be prosecuted for sharing pictures of their offspring on social media websites such as Facebook and YouTube.

Garai (right), who has starred in films such as Atonement and TV dramas including The Hour and Daniel Deronda, claims: ‘The privacy of children is invaded on a catastrophic scale.

‘I think we’ll look back at this period as utterly perverse. It should be illegal to post pictures of children without their permission.’

Romola, 34, who has two children with her husband, the actor Sam Hoare, adds: ‘If you have a private channel to share things among friends, that’s one thing. But I can’t imagine that this generation of children won’t turn round in 20 years and say: “I didn’t want to be naked in a picture seen by millions of people I don’t know.” Privacy is very valuable.’

Celebrities such as the Beckhams, TV chef Gordon Ramsay and socialite Tamara Ecclestone, regularly share pictures of their children online. Yesterday, McCartney was reported to be ‘livid’ that David Beckham had posted a photo online of her daughter, Reiley, at a birthday party held, controversially, at the Palace. The snap, which also featured the Beckhams’ daughter, Harper, and four more of her friends alongside Princess Eugenie, could be seen by Beckham’s 38.6 million followers.

Actors are encouraged to win fans online, but Romola is having none of it. ‘I don’t do any social media,’ she declares. ‘Something in me is a bit repulsed by it.

‘I’m aware it sounds “holier than thou”, but I find the idea of drawing people’s attention to awards you’ve won really weird.’