George Clooney has threatened to sue a French magazine after it published pictures of him and wife Amal with their newborn twins.

Voici printed the photos on Friday claiming to be the first pictures of Ella and Alexander who arrived in the world on June 6.

But Clooney claims photographers climbed trees to get the snaps taken at their residence in Lake Como, Italy.

The Hollywood star said: "Over the last week photographers from Voici magazine scaled our fence, climbed our tree and illegally took pictures of our infants inside our home.

"Make no mistake, the photographers, the agency and the magazine will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The safety of our children demands it."

Voici defended the photos as being in response to "public demand" and said the "public personalities" have widely commented on the twins, according to reports.

"People love George Clooney and have been following his life story for years now.

"Those pictures do not put in danger Mr Clooney, his wife or their kids," a statement added.