The Court of Appeal has discharged an order the effect of which would have been to postpone the reporting of an important criminal case for several months. The case relates to the shocking murder of a 15-year-old boy last year in front of hundreds of commuters during the rush hour at London’s Victoria Station. Following the lifting of reporting restrictions, the case has been widely reported, including here and here.
… The Court of Appeal’s judgment has not, so far as we know, been transcribed or reported elsewhere.
Contrast today’s reports that many UK MPs want to ban the naming of suspects to avoid media feeding frenzies. As Obiter J explains:
In June 2010 the Anonymity (Arrested Persons) Bill received its first reading in the House of Commons and a second reading is scheduled for 4th February 2011. This is a private member’s bill introduced (well before the Yeates case) by Anna Soubry MP but it looks as if Kenneth Clarke (Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor) and Dominic Grieve (Attorney-General) are now lending the bill their support. If it becomes law then we, the public, would not know who has been arrested for questioning by the Police.