l What's all the fuss about?

The Herald’s sister paper, the Sunday Herald, became the first mainstream publication in the UK to print the name of the footballer rumoured to be at the centre of a super-injunction scandal. His identity is hidden by an English court order, but the Sunday Herald has argued that this reporting ban does not apply north of the Border.

 

But what is a super-injunction?

It’s a two-tiered gagging order, and they’re all the rage right now with supposedly errant celebrities. Whereas a normal injunction would prevent papers printing allegations about a public figure -- for instance a claim that he’d had an affair -- a super-injunction goes a step further, and stops them reporting on the existence of the injunction itself.

 

So who has one, and why?

That’s the trouble -- we’re not allowed to tell you who or why. Sir Fred Goodwin recently had one overturned after he’d used it to hide claims of an affair, and broadcaster Andrew Marr voluntarily ended one he used to ban mentions of a child he thought he’d fathered following an affair. England footballer John Terry also had a gag removed last year, revealing claims he’d had an affair with a team-mate’s ex-girlfriend.

 

Sounds like it’s pretty watertight while it’s in place though. Is it?

In a victory for irony, they can be laughably counter-productive. The footballer named by the Sunday Herald, for instance, was gleefully identified by thousands of Twitter users who saw the super-injunction as a red rag. Half-a-million people have now viewed an online photo of the newspaper’s cover, far more than would otherwise have been aware of a boring affair allegation if it just appeared in print.

 

But if his name was already spread all over the internet, why did the Sunday Herald bother to print it?

To expose the ludicrous situation whereby a paper is banned from printing the truth about allegations circulating freely online. The Sunday Herald has no interest in whether or not the player had an affair, but there is a principle at stake, and the article has prompted more intense scrutiny of super-injunctions and freedom of the press.

 

Will it get in trouble?

No. Conveniently, England and Scotland have separate legal systems. People north of the Border can apply for an interdict -- similar to an injunction -- but that hasn’t been done in this case. The story remains offline because that would bring it directly to readers in England and Wales, which would be a breach.

 

What’s being done about super-injunctions?

The debate is moving on apace, but many lawmakers dislike them. A backbench MP used parliamentary privilege to circumvent one, covering Sir Fred Goodwin, last month, and a report last week by English judges recommended some measures to curb their use. Further reform looks likely in the near future.