The Worcester News won the right to name a baby involved in a child neglect case following a court intervention by one of its senior reporters.

The Crown Prosecution Service had applied for a Section 39 order to be imposed on the baby, which would have banned the identity of the child in the press.

But magistrates refused the application following a successful appeal by senior reporter Joby Mullens.

In challenging the order, he cited the case of his former paper, The Banbury Guardian, which persuaded magistrates in 2000 to lift a Section 39 order banning the identification of a child’s father who had pleaded guilty to being drunk in charge of a child.

The Guardian had argued the order would only have protected the identity of the defendant and that the child was too young to be affected.

Joby argued that this was a similar case where the child was too young to be prejudiced by the publicity.

Worcester News editor Stewart Gilbert said: “This was another case of the Crown Prosecution Service not following its own guidelines – and those contained in the Justices Guide.

“Luckily we had a sharp reporter in court and once he brought the legal precedent to the attention of the magistrates they swiftly agreed not to place the Section 39 order.”

The two defendants appeared before the city’s magistrates court charged with being in custody of a child and causing it to be mistreated, assaulted or neglected. The case was adjourned.

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