A report by the Law Commission on contempt of court, commissioned by the government last year, has contradicted Starmer and local authorities in the context of the Southport murders. The Commission agreed with the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation Jonathan Hall as well as recent interim guidance which says ethnic and other characteristics can be freely released…
In its review the Commission says:
“We agree with consultees that the publication of certain details – such as the name, age, nationality, and ethnicity of a suspect – is generally unlikely to create a substantial risk that the course of justice will be seriously impeded or prejudiced. This approach is reflected in recent interim guidance from the College of Policing (CofP) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), which recommends releasing such information in “high profile or sensitive investigations or operations” where there is, for example, “a policing purpose” or a “related risk or impact on public safety.”
Starmer defended the decision of Merseyside police and higher authorities to keep information secret: “I knew the details as they were emerging… you know and I know it would not have been right to disclose those details.” Not the case any more…
There will be a second stage to the Law Commission review after which the government will have to decide what to implement. Jonathan Hall said in March that Starmer’s decision to keep silent “led to dangerous fictions that could have been far more prejudicial to the prosecution of Rudakubana than some of the true facts which were suppressed in the name of contempt of court.” Hopefully the PM will not be allowed to do so again…
