Press code for J.K. Rowling and actress Sienna Miller

Writer J.K. Rowling and actress Sienna Miller have given a London courtroom a vivid picture of the anxiety, anger and fear produced by living in the glare of Britain's tabloid media, describing how press intrusion made them feel like prisoners in their homes. The creator of boy wizard Harry Potter told Britain's media ethics inquiry that having journalists camped on her doorstep was "like being under siege and like being a hostage". "The attitude seems to be absolutely cavalier," Rowling said. "You're famous, you're asking for it." The pair were among a diverse cast of witnesses — Hollywood star Hugh Grant, a former soccer player, a former aide to supermodel Elle Macpherson and the parents of missing and murdered children — who have described how becoming the focus of Britain's tabloid press wreaked havoc on their lives. Rowling said she was unprepared for the media attention she began to receive when her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, became a sensation. The seven Potter books have sold more than 450 million copies, spawned a hit movie series and propelled Rowling from struggling single mother to one of Britain's richest people. Rowling, 46, said media interest in her began shortly after the publication of her first novel in 1997 and soon escalated, with photographers and reporters frequently stationed outside her home. She eventually moved after stories and photographs revealed the location of her house. Miller, who became a tabloid staple when she dated fellow actor Jude Law, said the constant scrutiny left her feeling "very violated and very paranoid and anxious, constantly". "For a number of years I was relentlessly pursued by 10-15 men, almost daily," she said. "I would often find myself, at the age of 21, at midnight, running down a dark street on my own with men chasing me. And the fact they had cameras in their hands made that legal."