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Privacy injunctions unsustainable, says Cameron Privacy injunctions unsustainable, says Cameron
(40 minutes later)
Privacy rulings affecting newspapers are "unsustainable" and unfair on the press, the prime minister has said.Privacy rulings affecting newspapers are "unsustainable" and unfair on the press, the prime minister has said.
David Cameron told ITV1's Daybreak the law should be reviewed to "catch up with how people consume media today".David Cameron told ITV1's Daybreak the law should be reviewed to "catch up with how people consume media today".
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. It comes after Scotland's Sunday Herald became the UK's first mainstream paper to name a footballer accused on Twitter of taking out a privacy injunction.
The player, who began proceedings against ex-Big Brother star Imogen Thomas, has been named on Twitter. Twitter users had responded to a legal bid to find out who was behind messages naming a footballer by posting more.
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. Situation 'unsustainable'
The player, who an injunction says can only be identified as CTB, is involved in proceedings against ex-Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas, who is a former Miss Wales, and the Sun newspaper.
Mr Cameron told Daybreak: "It is rather unsustainable, this situation, where newspapers can't print something that clearly everybody else is talking about.Mr Cameron told Daybreak: "It is rather unsustainable, this situation, where newspapers can't print something that clearly everybody else is talking about.
"But there's a difficulty here because the law is the law and the judges must interpret what the law is."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."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.""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.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.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.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.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.
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."
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 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.
Its front page showed an image of a man whose eyes were covered with a black bar featuring the word "censored".Its front page showed an image of a man whose eyes were covered with a black bar featuring the word "censored".
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. 'Abuse while playing'
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 another case brought by a separate footballer, known to the court as TSE, a High Court judge ruled on Monday that comments on Twitter about the private life of a famous person did not mean there should be no injunction preventing newspapers from publishing stories about him.
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. Giving his reasons for agreeing an injunction in the case of the footballer alleged to have had an adulterous affair, Mr Justice Tugendhat said the court did not grant injunctions which would be futile.
"The issue is one of freedom of information and of a growing argument in favour of more restrictive privacy laws." "But the fact these publications have occurred does not mean there should be no injunctions in this case."
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 accepted the arguments put by the footballer's legal team that it would have a devastating effect on his marriage, his wife, and particularly their children.
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. Footballers, he said, about which such stories were written, were often subjected to abuse while they were playing.
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.
'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."
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."
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.
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.