The Scotsman

Press restrictio­ns preventing suspect from being named

was a horrific incident that has left Britain reeling and questionin­g how such a tragedycou­ld have taken place. but to preserve the integrity of the legal process, the answers to such questions are not immediatel­y forthcomin­g.

In the wake of the mass stabbing in Southport that claimed the lives of three young girls - Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine - there has been intense speculatio­n about the identity and motives of the suspect.

Many people have questioned why the media has not named the teenager. The answer to that is rooted in strict laws in England and Wales over what can be said publicly once someone has been arrested. They are designed to ensure that if the case proceeds to trial, there will be a fair and open-minded jury who are not prejudiced by what they have seen or read previously.

Because of privacy laws, suspects are frequently only named by the media once they have been charged in connection with an offence. If the suspect is under the age of 18, the restrictio­ns are even tighter.

There is an automatic ban on the identifica­tion of children in youth court proceeding­s, and if a youth appears in the Crown Court - as they would for a case like this - the judge can impose reporting restrictio­ns ensuring their anonymity under section 45 of the youth justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.

The restrictio­ns on reporting include not revealing the name, home address or school of any young person concerned in the case. This includes any photograph­s which may make identifyin­g them likely.

The Independen­t Press Standards Organisati­on’s editors’ code of practice also states editors should generally avoid naming children under the age of 18 after arrest for a criminal offence, but before they appear in a youth court, unless they can show that the individual’s name is already in the public domain, or that the individual has given their consent.

If the case proceeds to trial, suspects under the age of 18 will remain anonymous throughout proceeding­s. But these restrictio­ns can be challenged, usually by the media, after pro it ceedings have ended, according to the Crown Prosecutio­n Service.

In some rare cases, judges have lifted reporting restrictio­ns on the basis the public interest in the full reporting of criminal proceeding­s out weighs the desirabili­ty of avoiding additional harm to a child that has been convicted of a crime. Most famously, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both ten years old, were named after their conviction in 1993 of the abduction, torture and murder of two-year-old James Bulger.

A similar decision was taken more recently when the killers of Brianna Ghey, Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, were named after the judge in the case, Mrs Justice Yip, lifted a legal order. she said there was“a strong public interest in the full and unrestrict­ed reporting of what is plainly an exceptiona­l case”.

Merseyside Police, which is investigat­ing the incident, have said a 17-year-old male from Banks, a Lancashire village to the north of south port, but who is originally from Cardiff, was arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the stabbings. The force said it was not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack, which it said was not being treated as “terror-related.”