A judge has rejected a regional daily-backed bid to name the murderer of a 12-year-old girl despite support from the victim’s mother.

The Liverpool Echo had joined forces with the BBC and PA to call for an end to reporting restrictions protecting the killer of Ava White.

Ava was stabbed in the neck after an argument about her attacker, known only as ‘Boy A’, filming her on Snapchat.

Ava’s mum Leanne White had expressed her hope that Boy A could be identified in the press, citing “the interests of the public and for the wellbeing of others”, after the killer was locked up for life with a minimum term of 13 years at Liverpool Crown Court.

How the Echo covered the sentencing

The murderer is now 15, but was 14 at the time of Ava’s death.

Despite the application, Boy A’s identity will be protected until he is 18 under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 after Justice Amanda Yip claimed there were “real and immediate concerns for the welfare of the defendant and his younger siblings”.

The Echo, BBC and PA had argued in their application that naming the killer would “serve as a deterrence to others”, adding withholding his identity would “inhibit proper public scrutiny or debate about the circumstances leading to this terrible offence”.

Revealing her decision at sentencing last Monday, Mrs Justice Yip told the court: “This offence has given rise to a very high level of interest locally and nationally. There will undoubtedly be significant public interest in the identity of the defendant.

“I well understand why Ava’s family wish him to be named and why the press want to be free to publish a name and picture at the time of sentencing.

“Such details do give a degree of ‘colour’ to the story. However, I am unable to accept that the press are unable to report the story in a way that would serve as a deterrence to others without the defendant’s identity.

“I also cannot accept that withholding the defendant’s identity would inhibit proper public scrutiny or debate about the circumstances leading to this terrible offence.”

The judge accepted that naming Boy A, who will still be in custody when automatic anonymity lapses on his 18th birthday, “may provide a powerful factor in favour of allowing reporting of his identity at the time of sentencing, when the public interest is greatest”.

But she added: “In this case, there are real and immediate concerns for the welfare of the defendant and his younger siblings if his identity becomes more widely known.

“Some of those concerns are likely to dissipate to some degree over the next three years. Within that period, careful consideration can be given to the defendant’s placement and preparatory work can be done with the other children at a pace that is driven by their welfare, maturity and understanding rather than being rushed.

“There is therefore a material difference in the likely impact of identifying the defendant in three years’ time compared with the impact likely to result now.

“Having considered all the circumstances of this case, I have concluded that the public interest in knowing the identity of the person who murdered Ava White is outweighed by the need to safeguard the welfare of the defendant who is still only 15 years of age.

“There is evidence that the authorities harbour a genuine concern about their ability to safeguard him within his current placement, where he has been making good progress and displaying good behaviour.

“In considering the defendant’s welfare, I have taken also into account the safety and welfare of his family since that cannot be wholly separated from his welfare.

“There is real and significant evidence of a substantial threat to the welfare of the younger children if the defendant is named now.”