A study of court reporting in the UK has concluded public funding should be considered to safeguard the ability of local newspapers to be the eyes and ears of the public.

After interviewing 22 journalists from across the UK about their court coverage, Richard Jones of the University of Huddersfield warned any reduction on the current provision would have a “huge impact on open justice”.

His paper, published in the academic journal Journalism Practice, concluded that some form of public subsidy for court reporting, whether under an expanded BBC-funded Local Democracy Reporter Service or another scheme, would be “welcome”.