Media coverage could put fair trial at risk, says MP

Media coverage about the couple charged in relation to the murders of schoolgirls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells could jeopardise their chances of a fair trial, a senior Tory MP warned today.

The extent of the reporting about school caretaker Ian Huntley and his fiancee Maxine Carr could undermine the prospects of securing a safe verdict in the case, said Michael Fabricant, a member of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

“There is always, is there not, a presumption of innocence in this country,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“There is a real case now of this couple being demonised.

“My concern ... is will they get a fair trial in a year from now, whenever the trial happens to take place?”

“And indeed, if they are found guilty, will an appeal be lodged on the basis that there hasn’t been a fair trial because the jury has already been influenced because they have read the sheer depth and volume and tone of the coverage so far?”

Mr Fabricant criticised the delay by the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, who wrote to media organisations on Friday to warn them of the risks of prejudice in the case.

He said he would be urging the Culture, Media and Sport Committee to launch an inquiry into the sub judice rules, which cover the reporting of criminal cases once a suspect has been arrested and charged.