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Murder trial gamble pays off for Telegraph

The Grimsby Telegraph brought readers the full story behind the Luke Walmsley murder just an hour after the sentencing – after taking a calculated gamble on the judge’s decision to name the killer.

The judge, Mr Justice Goldring, lifted a banning order which had been protecting the identity of 16-year-old Alan Pennell, minutes before the Telegraph’s 11 o’clock first edition deadline.

Staff at the Telegraph had prepared ten pages of interviews and background which included the name and photographs of the killer – and the decision to lift the section 39 order meant the gamble taken by editor Michelle Lalor had paid off.

Michelle said: “If we hadn’t have been able to name him we would have been up the creek without a paddle. But we took a calculated risk and it paid off.

“All indications were that the ban would be lifted. We had highlighted all the references to Pennell, but it would’ve been interesting if we hadn’t been able to name him!”

Revealing the identity of the convicted murderer, the Telegraph’s first edition – which hit the streets at midday – included a full-length front-page photograph of Alan Pennell in his school uniform, taken from the paper’s archives.

Its ten pages of coverage following the conclusion of the case also included interviews with various people who knew Alan, including the best friend of his late mother and neighbours, who told how he had bragged he would be famous one day.

The Telegraph had covered the case for the duration of the trial, with court reporter Mark Naylor and district news editor Peter Craig both reporting from Nottingham Crown Court.

It printed 3,000 copies of a special late edition on Monday after the 3.20pm verdict, which was sent to main outlets and to the coast, near the school where the murder happened.

Meanwhile at the Lincolnshire Echo, the first five pages of Tuesday’s first edition were dedicated to the verdict. Reporter Paul Whitelam was in court and he and Aleisha Scott covered the various press conferences.

The paper was then able to include details of sentencing and name Pennell in all subsequent editions, and coverage was also extended to pages six and seven for the city final.

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