Media organisations have lost a challenge against continuing restrictions on reporting a terrorism trial which was held in conditions of unprecedented secrecy.
Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and two other judges at the Court of Appeal in London announced their decision on Tuesday.
The case centred on what should now be allowed to be reported following the Old Bailey trial of law student Erol Incedal.
The appeal judges had heard from a lawyer representing a number of broadcasters and newspaper publishers that the case raised "important issues about the constitutional principle of open justice".
Incedal, of south-east London, was acquitted last year of plotting with a terrorist in Syria either to target individuals such as former prime minister Tony Blair or carry out a ''Mumbai-style'' outrage using a Kalashnikov.
Much of the trial was in private, with only a small group of journalists being allowed to attend, but barred from reporting on anything they saw or heard. In addition, parts of the trial were held in secret, with the press as well as the public excluded.
Media organisations challenged a decision by the trial judge to refuse to lift reporting restrictions which had covered the parts of the trial which were held in private.
Announcing the decision, Lord Thomas emphasised the importance of open justice, but said that the trial judge had made the correct decision "in the interests of national security".
Incedal was cleared of planning a gun attack at the end of a retrial, but he was jailed for three-and-a-half years last April for possessing a bomb-making manual on a memory card he had at the time of his arrest in October 2013. He was convicted of that offence in 2014.
His friend Mounir Rarmoul-Bouhadjar, who had admitted having an identical document, was jailed for three years by trial judge Mr Justice Nicol.
The media argued that the judge was wrong to hold that the restrictions had to stay in place, and that the end of the trial meant that the sole justification for the reporting restrictions - that reporting could seriously prejudice the administration of justice - had now gone.
Incedal admitted in evidence heard in open court that he had the document on a memory card, but argued that he had a reasonable excuse for having it and so was not committing an offence.
But the jury heard the basis for his belief that he had a reasonable excuse during the private sessions - and those reporters who were present are currently banned from reporting that information.
The organisations say there is substantial and genuine public interest in reporting of the matters that lay at the heart of the prosecution's case against Incedal, and that without such reporting the public is left unable to understand the real issue at the trial, and the reason for his acquittal on the main charge.
The Crown had sought complete secrecy for the trial - with Incedal and Rarmoul-Bouhadjar being kept anonymous - but lawyers for the media mounted a successful challenge at the Court of Appeal in 2014.
Appeal judges lifted the anonymity, saying the defendants should be named, and declared that while the ''core'' of the trial could be held in secret it must start and end in public.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article