The Cambridge Evening News successfully challenged a Section 49 order banning the identification of an 18- year-old who had earned up to £1,000 a day from dealing drugs to fellow students.
Cambridge magistrates originally took the decision to stop the paper naming Joshua Lawson, who was 17 at the time of his offence, but had turned 18 by the time it went to trial.
With the help of solicitors Farrer & Co, the reporting restriction was overturned following Lawson’s solicitor’s admission that the youth court had exceeded its right to ban Lawson’s identification.
Evening News editor Murray Morse said: "It may be a bit of a cliché to say ‘Not only must justice be done, but it must also be seen to be done’ — but it is a fact that part of the punishment of offenders is that they are named and shamed publicly.
"I’m delighted the court has seen sense and lifted the ban. It’s just a pity that the News had to force the court into lifting the banning order, rather than it making the right decision from the outset."
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