Politicians are backing a newspaper's call for open justice after a court banned the identification of an Asbo yob.

Brighton and Hove Magistrates' Court ruled The Argus could not name the teenager, despite the fact that the same court said just two days before that the name of the former gang member could be published.

It made the order despite Government guidelines stating names, addresses and photographs of Asbo yobs should appear in newspapers.

And now politicians have criticised the court's decision.

Lewes MP Norman Baker said: "The Argus is absolutely right on this and it has left me very concerned. If someone has committed an offence, the details should be made available to the public.

"The whole point of an Asbo is so the person who has one will be identified.

"If someone carries out retribution that is a further crime but it isn't a reason not to publish in the first place."

The public is also banned from reading the full detail of the youth's behaviour and from learning the names of the youths he socialised with.

Although magistrates recognised that the original order was unlawful, they have now decided a complete ban on the identity of the teenager is necessary to protect him from the public.

The youth had a long history of yob behaviour and has been banned from parts of the city centre: he threw a brick through a window of a house, injuring a teenage girl, smashed six car windscreens and was in a gang which attacked an innocent father.

Brighton Pavilion MP David Lepper said: "The court went for the worst possible option because they have already disclosed his name.

"It could lead to speculation, because someone with a similar name could find themselves on the end of retribution and attack. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, banning someone's identity seems to be in spite of the legislation."

The Argus is considering a legal challenge to the decision.

The youth's interim Asbo lasts until a court hearing on March 20 when the magistrates will decide whether his behaviour warrants a full Asbo. He could be banned from sections of the city for years.