Home Secretary Jack Straw has given a ringing endorsement to newspapereditors who challenge magistrates to lift legal restrictions banning the identification of juveniles.

Mr Straw was speaking after the Lancashire Evening Post joined forces withPreston Council to persuade a magistrate that the names of three youngoffenders should be made public.

The three, aged 16, 15 and 13, were convicted of a string of offences,including assault on police, burglary and car crime, during a reign of terror on the notorious Callon Estate in Preston.

The application was made by one of the Evening Post’s newly-qualifiedreporters, Alan Burrows, who dashed from the court to talk through a submission to the magistrate with his news editor, David Barnett. Their argument won the day and the Evening Post was able to run an exclusive splash with pictures of the three offenders.

Mr Straw, who was in Preston to launch a young offenders’ project, saw thepaper and asked to keep a copy.

He said: “In the past, the youth justice system has been something of a secret system and the identity of the offenders did not get out and communities remained in the dark.

“We are now encouraging courts to lift restrictions on the naming ofoffenders in appropriate circumstances. We want to see the public able toget into the youth justice courts, see the offenders and see the systemworking.”

Evening Post editor Roger Borrell said: “The Home Secretary’s words arevery encouraging and give a clear message to every editor in the country.

“I just hope that message continues to get through to the magistrates andthe people at the sharp end – the reporters on the court press benches.

“Our argument in this case was not that these young villains deserved tobe named and shamed – although several of our readers clearly felt wewould be justified in doing that.

“The magistrate was proposing to impose a banning order preventing the three entering the estate except at certain times to visit relatives, and a curfew. This would have been pointless without making their identities known and, after lifting the restrictions, the magistrate went on to urge local people to report them to the police if they breached the ban.”

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