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January 8, 2004updated 17 May 2007 11:30am

Seven nationals face prosecution

By Press Gazette

Seven national newspapers are facing possible prosecutions for contempt of court following their reports into the arrest of a man suspected of shooting dead a policeman.

PC Ian Broadhurst was shot dead on Boxing Day when he attempted to arrest a man driving a stolen car.

The papers may have fallen foul of the 1981 Contempt of Court Act when they revealed that a man arrested in connection with the policeman’s murder had a chequered past in the US.

The act forbids reports which could cause a “substantial risk of serious prejudice” to a trial once a suspect has been charged or arrested.

A spokesman for the Attorney General said: “He has written to seven national newspapers seeking their representations about the coverage following the charging of a suspect for the murder of PC Broadhurst.”

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