Review warns members of Parliament against flouting super injunctions
An inquiry has found that reporting comments made in Parliament which defy a super injunction may be in contempt of court.
Following the revelation yesterday in the House of Commons that Sir Fred Goodwin took a super injunction to hide an alleged affair with a colleague, the Daily Telegraph says that a review on the use of injunctions has warned that Lords are only protected by parliamentary privilege if published ‘in good faith and without malice’.
The review was compiled by some of the country’s leading judges, led by Lord Neuberger, the Master of Rolls and said that ‘no judicial decision’ had been taken on reporting material which would defy a court order.
"The principle of open justice is a fundamental constitutional principle, although it is not an absolute principle,” said the review.
"It applies to interim injunction applications as it does to trials."
Speaking to the media, Lord chief justice Lord Judge warned that members of Parliament needed to consider whether it was ‘a good idea’ for law makers to be ‘flouting a court order’ because they disagree with it and said that judges would hold talks with the speakers of the Commons and the Lords about the issue.
The review also found that only two super-injunctions had been granted since January 2010.