The BBC has failed in its bid to exclude a daily newspaper from an industrial tribunal involving one of its journalists.

The corporation made an application to exclude the Belfast Telegraph from part of an upcoming tribunal hearing relating to Donna Traynor, who quit her role as a presenter on its Newsline programme in November last year.

The 56-year-old, pictured, began legal proceedings against the BBC in the industrial tribunal earlier this year.

According to the Bel Tel, the bid has now been rejected by employment judge Mrs Órla Murray, who ruled that a journalist from the newspaper’s publisher Mediahuis, which challenged the application, be permitted to attend “all of the substantive hearing including any private session”.

She said: “I am not persuaded that a fully private hearing, even if restricted to a portion of the hearing, would be proportionate as I consider that it is important that the Press, as the eyes and ears of the public, can be in attendance to hear the detail of the material under scrutiny so that they can understand it with a view to reporting on it as and when permitted by order of the tribunal.”

Judge Murray instead imposed a hybrid privacy order, temporarily preventing the reporting of certain information, and designating part of the hearing private apart from the attendance of media representatives.

The judge determined this order to be the minimum necessary interference with the open justice principle required, and that it could be kept under review as the evidence unfolded in the case.

Donna had worked for the BBC since 1989, presenting radio news bulletins before moving into television.

Announcing her departure on Twitter last year, she said: “It is with deep sadness that, after almost 33 years, I am leaving the job that I love and resigning from BBC Northern Ireland with immediate effect.

“Because this is the subject of ongoing tribunal and other legal proceedings, I am not able to respond to any questions or comments about my reason for leaving the organisation.”

The BBC said it does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings, while the Bel Tel has also declined to comment further at this stage.