The Edinburgh Evening News has been cleared of breaking the law by naming a 15-year-old boy accused of murder.

The paper reported in April last year that Luke Mitchell had been charged with the murder of his girlfriend Jodi Jones.

It faced court action for allegedly breaching the Criminal Procedure Act, which bans publication of details which would lead to the identification of anyone under 16 involved in criminal proceedings before a court.

However, the Crown Office has now dropped the case and will not proceed with any action against the newspaper.

The decision was made after the Aberdeen Press and Journal was cleared in court in July of committing the same offence. It was the second time it was cleared, following an appeal by the Crown on the court’s February verdict.

The case hinged on whether proceedings were active when the paper published the name. But the Evening News and the Press and Journal named Mitchell before he actually appeared in court.

Lawyer Campbell Deane, who represented the Evening News, said the paper has been “vindicated”.

He added: “When the Evening News published the story, Luke Mitchell had been charged, but was not due to appear in court until the following day.

“So there was a window available in which to identify him.”