View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Archive content
May 22, 2003updated 17 May 2007 11:30am

‘Exceptional’ ruling gags media permanently

By Press Gazette

Child killer Mary Bell and her teenage daughter have won a permanent gag preventing the press revealing anything that would identify them. The gag is aimed at protecting them from harassment and attack.

President of the High Court’s family division, Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, ruled that they can never be identified.

She said the granting of such orders should be “exceptional” and warned that her ruling was not to be taken to be a broadening of the principles of the law of confidence. But she considered that in this case the circumstances were sufficiently exceptional to justify the order sought.

She said she had taken into account, among other things, Bell’s age at the time of the killings, findings that she had suffered an abusive childhood, the length of time that has passed since the offences, the need for her rehabilitation into society, the serious risk of potential harassment, vilification and ostracism and the possibility of physical harm, her present mental state and concerns for the welfare of her daughter.

Bell, who was convicted when just 11-years-old of the manslaughter of Martin Brown, four, and Brian Howe, three, was detained until she was released on licence when she was 23.

She has been given a new identity and has lived in anonymity with her own daughter, who is now 18, both of them protected from being identified by wide-ranging court orders which were aimed at giving the daughter anonymity until her 18th birthday.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

These orders were temporarily extended pending the outcome of these proceedings, in which lawyers for both had asked the court to extend the injunction indefinitely.

By Roger Pearson

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network