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Sunday Herald footballer story: No legal action planned Privacy injunctions unsustainable, says Cameron
(40 minutes later)
The attorney general has said he is not considering legal action against a newspaper which named a footballer said to have taken out a privacy injunction. Privacy rulings affecting newspapers are "unsustainable" and unfair on the press, the prime minister has said.
Dominic Grieve says he is aware of the Sunday Herald's story but is not actively seeking contempt proceedings. David Cameron told ITV1's Daybreak the law should be reviewed to "catch up with how people consume media today".
The paper says the gagging order does not apply in Scotland and the player's identity is already well known because of social networking website Twitter. His comments came after Scotland's Sunday Herald became the UK's first mainstream paper to name a footballer who had taken out a privacy injunction.
Scots First Minister Alex Salmond says injunctions are becoming "impractical". The player, who began proceedings against ex-Big Brother star Imogen Thomas, has been named on Twitter.
The Sunday Herald is the first mainstream UK publication to name the footballer said to have taken out a super-injunction to protect his privacy. Users of the social networking site have reacted to the footballer's attempt to find out who is putting information about him on the website by posting new messages online.
Its front page has an image of a man whose eyes are covered with a black bar which features the word "censored". Mr Cameron told Daybreak: "It is rather unsustainable, this situation, where newspapers can't print something that clearly everybody else is talking about.
Mr Salmond said England's courts were out of step on injunctions. "But there's a difficulty here because the law is the law and the judges must interpret what the law is.
"What I've said in the past is, the danger is that judgements are effectively writing a new law which is what Parliament is meant to do.
"So I think the government, Parliament, has got to take some time out, have a proper look at this, have a think about what we can do, but I'm not sure there is going to be a simple answer."
Newspapers are prevented from identifying the player by a court injunction, although tens of thousands of Twitter users have named him.
The prime minister said one solution might be to strengthen the Press Complaints Commission so that people had more confidence in the body.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, has said he is not actively seeking contempt proceedings against the Sunday Herald.
And Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said injunctions were becoming "impractical" and England's courts were out of step.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "In the modern age, with the internet, is it tenable to pursue these sort of injunctions? I'd have thought there was an increasing view that it was untenable to do so.He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "In the modern age, with the internet, is it tenable to pursue these sort of injunctions? I'd have thought there was an increasing view that it was untenable to do so.
"There's a whole question of what's of interest to the public and what's in the public interest, which is often two different things."There's a whole question of what's of interest to the public and what's in the public interest, which is often two different things.
'Unsustainable' Law 'impractical'
"The law essentially is a practical thing. It looks to me like the English law, English injunctions, look increasingly impractical in the modern world.""The law essentially is a practical thing. It looks to me like the English law, English injunctions, look increasingly impractical in the modern world."
Meanwhile, Twitter users have reacted to the footballer's attempt to find out who is putting information about him on the website by posting new messages online. The Sunday Herald said the gagging order imposed on newspapers did not apply in Scotland and added that the player's identity was already well known because of Twitter.
The player, who an injunction says can only be identified as CTB, is involved in proceedings against former Miss Wales and ex-Big Brother star Imogen Thomas and the Sun newspaper. Its front page shoed an image of a man whose eyes were covered with a black bar featuring the word "censored".
In recent weeks there has been heightened scrutiny of gagging orders such as injunctions and so-called super-injunctions - court orders that prevent the media from revealing even the fact that an injunction has been granted. The player, who an injunction says can only be identified as CTB, is involved in proceedings against Ms Thomas, who is a former Miss Wales, and the Sun newspaper.
In its editorial explaining the move, the Sunday Herald said it named the sportsman being linked to the injunction on Twitter because it was "unsustainable" for newspapers to be prevented from sharing information which is easily available on the internet.In its editorial explaining the move, the Sunday Herald said it named the sportsman being linked to the injunction on Twitter because it was "unsustainable" for newspapers to be prevented from sharing information which is easily available on the internet.
It said: "We should point out immediately that we are not accusing the footballer concerned of any misdeed. Whether the allegations against him are true or not has no relevance to this debate.It said: "We should point out immediately that we are not accusing the footballer concerned of any misdeed. Whether the allegations against him are true or not has no relevance to this debate.
"The issue is one of freedom of information and of a growing argument in favour of more restrictive privacy laws.""The issue is one of freedom of information and of a growing argument in favour of more restrictive privacy laws."
Richard Walker, editor of the Sunday Herald, said: "It seems to us a ludicrous situation where we are supposed to keep from our readers the identity of someone who anybody can find out on the internet at the click of a mouse, and in fact many people have already done so."Richard Walker, editor of the Sunday Herald, said: "It seems to us a ludicrous situation where we are supposed to keep from our readers the identity of someone who anybody can find out on the internet at the click of a mouse, and in fact many people have already done so."
He added that he had taken extensive legal advice and was not expecting any legal consequences because the injunction was not valid in Scotland - only in England.He added that he had taken extensive legal advice and was not expecting any legal consequences because the injunction was not valid in Scotland - only in England.
His paper, he said, was not published, distributed or sold in England.His paper, he said, was not published, distributed or sold in England.
The newspaper's website is not carrying the name of the footballer or the picture used on the front page of its printed newspaper.The newspaper's website is not carrying the name of the footballer or the picture used on the front page of its printed newspaper.
'Out of control'
Paul McBride, the paper's legal adviser, said: "Every child in the country with a mobile phone can now access Twitter or the internet and find out who this individual is, and the idea that the media cannot report it is frankly absurd."Paul McBride, the paper's legal adviser, said: "Every child in the country with a mobile phone can now access Twitter or the internet and find out who this individual is, and the idea that the media cannot report it is frankly absurd."
Asked whether the front page would increase newspaper sales, he said the decision to publish was "not taken on commercial grounds but on grounds of principle".Asked whether the front page would increase newspaper sales, he said the decision to publish was "not taken on commercial grounds but on grounds of principle".
"We have the right of freedom of expression and the right to debate these issues. I think the publication in today's paper will bring the matter to a head.""We have the right of freedom of expression and the right to debate these issues. I think the publication in today's paper will bring the matter to a head."
'Out of control'
Media lawyer Mark Stephens said the floodgates had been opened by the naming of the footballer in Spain, Mauritius, and now Scotland.Media lawyer Mark Stephens said the floodgates had been opened by the naming of the footballer in Spain, Mauritius, and now Scotland.
"It's an exercise in futility to try and continue with this injunction," he said."It's an exercise in futility to try and continue with this injunction," he said.
If judges did not want to make the law "look an ass" then the injunction had to be recalled and the player named, he added.If judges did not want to make the law "look an ass" then the injunction had to be recalled and the player named, he added.
Meanwhile, there has been widespread speculation on social media websites in recent days naming high-profile individuals who have allegedly used the English courts to protect their identities.
On Sunday it emerged the attorney general is being asked to consider prosecuting a journalist who allegedly broke a privacy order on Twitter.
The unnamed writer allegedly named a footballer, who is accused of having an affair, known in court papers as TSE.
The attorney general's office said it would "consider the matter carefully" but had not yet received the request.
On Friday, the findings of a year-long inquiry by a committee of judges and lawyers into the use of injunctions and so-called super-injunctions were revealed.
The committee's report said super-injunctions were now being granted for "short periods" and only where "secrecy is necessary".
Committee chairman Lord Neuberger, who is the most senior civil judge in England and Wales, said the internet "does add to difficulties of enforcement at the moment".
He said the internet had "by no means the same degree of intrusion into privacy as the story being emblazoned on the front pages of newspapers", which "people trust more".
However, he warned that modern technology was "totally out of control" and society should consider other ways to bring Twitter and other websites under control.