A judge has backed a regional daily’s bid to name two teenage murderers saying it will deter others from knife crime.

The Bournemouth Echo has revealed the identities of 17-year-old killers Jack James Hindley and Samuel Roy Jones after they were convicted of Edward Reeve’s murder.

The pair had been granted anonymity under Section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 when they first appeared in court in January.

But the Echo successfully applied to the Honourable Mr Justice Sweeney for the order to be lifted when the two, who were 16 at the time of the killing, were both jailed for life following a trial at Winchester Crown Court.

From left: Jack James Hindley and Samuel Roy Jones

The judge revealed his decision during the sentencing hearing after written and oral submissions from the Echo.

He said that open reporting could have a “deterrent effect” on youth knife crime and attacks in the home which he said were “two areas of public concern”.

Mr Justice Sweeney added: “There is greater weight in open justice and unrestricted reporting than in the interests of these defendants.”

Speaking to HTFP, Echo chief reporter Jason Lewis said: “The majority of our coverage of the case, which involved attending court for almost every day of the trial at Winchester Crown Court, was done by Ben Williets.

“As the trial approached its latter stages, Ben and I worked together to formalise a draft submission to the court in the event that guilty verdicts were returned by the jury.

“We formulated this submission in consultation with our newsdesk, Newsquest’s head of legal and court reporters from other newspapers in the group.

“We were confident we had produced a strong submission, referencing a number of relevant cases, showing it was in the public interest for these two teenage defendants to be named. However, we were aware that defence counsel would challenge our application and it would be for the judge to make a decision on the matter.”

The Echo also discussed the application with the New Milton Advertiser & Lymington Times and Jason said his newspaper was “grateful for their support and endorsement of our submission”.

He added: “Both Ben and I made oral submissions to the judge in open court to expand on some of the points in our argument.

“I am grateful to the Honourable Mr Justice Sweeney for his detailed judgement, which he made available to the press. It explains all he considered in making his decision and how he got to the conclusion he did – granting our application and lifting the reporting restriction.

“We believe it is clearly in the public interest for those who commit the gravest of crimes to be known to the public, with open justice a cornerstone of our democracy.

“I would like to place on the record my thanks to those who assisted and supported in making the application.

“Covering the courts is a key part of news journalism and I hope that we can continue to dedicate the time and resources to this area of our local media reporting, challenging the courts and authorities where appropriate.”

Hindley and Jones will both spend a minimum term of 18 years behind bars. They had attacked Mr Reeve with two knives inflicting multiple wounds at his home.

The attackers then left the scene, leaving the victim to suffer “mentally and physically” before he bled to death.

After the attack they “bragged” about what they done, the court heard.