The South Wales Argus has overturned a court order banning the naming of an alleged attack victim.

The Argus persuaded magistrates, sitting in Newport’s youth court, to lift an order made under Section 49 of the 1933 Children and Young Person’s Act.

The order prevents the naming of any young person involved as a witness or defendant in cases dealt with at youth courts.

The Argus has covered at length the case of Lucy Edwards, a 16-year-old schoolpupil who was injured in an alleged attack at a Newport hotel in February.

Lucy suffered some brain damage following the incident and has been off school since.

The teenager gave the Argus a full interview while police were investigating.

A 17-year-old youth was last week (July 4) charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Lucy. But magistrates were planning to ban publication of Lucy’s name in any reports of the case.

In a letter sent to the court, the Argus argued that the public already knew Lucy’s identity and any restriction in identifying her would make it unduly difficult to report the case.

The Argus did not make any attempt to name the defendant or any other witnesses.

Argus deputy editor Kevin Ward: “We are delighted the magistrates agreed with our contention.

“This is a case of massive public interest in Newport and Lucy has already shown she is happy to be identified. We have a very good relationship with her and her family.

“We now feel we will be able to report the outcome of this case properly. It is a victory for common sense.”

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