Media law is ever changing and this index will strive to keep you abreast of developments in this complex and important area of journalism.
Our fortnightly column looking at the latest law issues, written by specialist media lawyers from Foot Anstey, also appears here.
Two newspapers have overturned bans on identifying people involved in crown court proceedings after appealing to the judges involved. The Southern Daily Echo persuaded Judge David Griffiths, sitting in Southampton, that to name a 15-year-old who admitted robbery and grievous
A newspaper law expert has called for a review of the Contempt of Court Act, and suggested a study into the actual impact on jurors of pre-trial publicity surrounding a case. Express Newspapers’ legal advisor Justin Walford said the fault
Newcastle Chronicle and Journal Ltd has agreed to pay substantial undisclosed libel damages to actor Jimmy Nail for comments made by a columnist in the Sunday Sun in May. Gossip columnist Karen Wight also agreed to pay damages after she
The Evening Gazette has lost its bid to name a 14-year-old who terrorised a Middlesbrough estate. The teenager was made the subject of an anti-social behaviour order last week, but district judge James Prowse, sitting at Teesside Magistrates Court, banned
Hull Daily Mail sports staff have been banned from Hull City’s football ground by the club chairman.Football writer John Fieldhouse tells what happened when he turned up to report on the latest home game. Hull City chairman Adam Pearson has
A reporter from The Argus, Brighton, successfully challenged a court order banning the publication of defendants’ addresses in a trial. He was spoken to by the Judge in chambers – and argued his case based on past examples. Four men
The Newham Recorder has won the right to name a road accident victim, after a judge banned identification. A schoolgirl was seriously injured when a car being pursued by police crashed into a brick wall in June. A reporter and
The News Shopper has won a bid to publish the names of all six youths served with anti-social behaviour orders in a groundbreaking case. The group, part of the self-styled ‘Slade Green Massive’ forced ordinary, decent families to cower in
The Evening Star, Ipswich, has won the right to identify a teenager who terrorised his neighbours with a torrent of verbal, racial and physical abuse. The 14-year-old boy has been made the subject of a three-year Anti-Social Behaviour Order after
Kentish Express trainee Louise Edwards claimed a victory in court this week by successfully challenging a section 39 order. Louise, (22), who started at the Kent Messenger Group-owned newspaper last December, challenged the order during the case of Rodney White,
A libel action against the Newcastle Evening Chronicle has been settled out of court by two nursery nurses wrongly accused of child abuse in a council report.This is the full statement on the matter by Chronicle editor Paul Robertson. CHRISTOPHER
Magistrates agreed to lift reporting restrictions on naming a persistent young offender after a challenge from Northern Echo trainee reporter Julia Breen. The 17-year-old defendant appeared in court in South Durham after breaching an anti-social behaviour order just five days
A brave teenager has spoken out about the year-long sexual abuse she endured at the hands of a paedophile. Laura Taylor, (16), took the unusual step of waiving her legal right to anonymity so that she could tell her story
A review is under way which could close some inquests to the press and public. The Government is examining proposals that might better serve the needs of the modern public, give bereaved families better rights, and provide professionals with better
A High Court judge has ruled that no action should be taken against the Aberdeen Press and Journal after it was alleged to be in contempt of court. The newspaper faced the charge after it published an article in August
The Jersey Evening Post has won the right to challenge the secrecy surrounding a multi-million pound civil court case involving the state of Qatar. The Post is arguing for the lifting, in the interests of open justice, of reporting restrictions