Hundreds of gagging orders hiding public figures: report

The extent of court privacy injunctions in British public life and the media has been revealed in an analysis by the Independent newspaper.

It found that more than 333 gagging orders protecting the identities of celebrities, children and private individuals have been granted in the past five years.

The naming in Parliament of footballer Ryan Giggs is fuelling the debate over injunctions, and MPs have renewed calls for the Ministry of Justice to collect figures on the number of privacy orders given in Britain's courts after a senior judge warned the lack of reliable data was undermining public confidence in the administration of justice.

The secret nature of super-injunctions and other restrictive orders means that no definitive figures exist for the number of rulings in force in England and Wales - despite a rash of revelations which has seen several prominent people, from broadcaster Andrew Marr to former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin, unmasked as recipients.

The Independent audit has found at least 264 orders which grant anonymity to children or vulnerable adults.

But the figures reveal 69 more cases where injunctions bar publishing the names of prominent people, including 28 men accused of extra-marital affairs and nine cases where convicted criminals have been granted anonymity.

Courts are ready to issue gagging orders in a wide-ranging and occasionally surprising number of circumstances, including the case of a lawyer accused of possessing hardcore pornography and an order preventing disclosure of the identity of a sex change candidate.

The data highlight the importance of anonymity orders in the administration of justice, including at least six allegations of blackmail, where the victims include a Premier League footballer and an aristocrat.

Orders have also been granted to at least seven companies, including the publicly owned bank Northern Rock, permanently or temporarily preventing publication of allegations about their commercial affairs.

The true number of anonymity injunctions is probably higher but the analysis shows an alarming gap in public knowledge about the extent of gagging orders in England and Wales.

Lord Neuberger, Master of the Rolls, has said it's "impossible to verify" the number of rulings being handed down which make it a criminal offence to publish certain information about individuals.

His report into injunctions stated: "The absence of evidence has encouraged a view that an entirely secret process has developed in the civil courts, and that this is improper in principle, risks neutering press freedom to report matters of public interest and undermines the public's right to be informed of court proceedings."

A senior Conservative MP called on the Government to swiftly enforce the report's finding that the Ministry of Justice should start recording how many injunctions containing publicity restrictions are applied for and granted.

The controversy over super-injunctions, which has seen the names of several prominent people accused of extra-marital affairs widely repeated on Twitter, was to be raised by Prime Minister David Cameron and other world leaders at the G8 summit in France yesterday.

Government sources confirmed they expected the storm surrounding the disclosure of Ryan Giggs' name to be discussed at the meeting, where Nicolas Sarkozy is pressing for tougher internet regulation to protect copyright and privacy on the web - a task which presents real obstacles.

John Hemming, the Liberal Democrat MP who named Giggs, said he was aware of 10 recipients of super-injunctions amid criticism of his decision to use parliamentary privilege to reveal the footballer's identity.

He said: "I think in some ways naming Ryan Giggs lances the boil. It has brought the whole issue out in the open, which is where it should be."

UNTOLD STORIES

The 333 gagging orders include:

* A footballer alleging blackmail after a group-sex session in a hotel was captured on mobile phone video.

* A celebrity with a disabled son.

* At least four child abusers protecting their new identities.

* A member of the public who didn't want the press to report his sex change.

* A television personality who received death threats.

* A woman who had a laptop containing her sex videos stolen.

* A football manager who strayed.

* A gambling spouse.

* A betting company that obtained an injunction against disclosing information about its clients' betting.

* A murderer's ex-girlfriend given a new identity - and the psychiatrist who assessed her.

* A blackmailed aristocrat.

* A "leading actor" who slept with Helen Wood (only she can be named).

* Tens of Premier League footballers who are family men in public but who are in reality promiscuous cheats.

* A media personality who denied alcohol addiction.

* A sportsman's child who is subject to court proceedings.

* An actress whose laptop containing intimate photographs was stolen.

* And hundreds of anonymity orders preventing the media from doing anything that would lead to the identification of children whose parents or carers are accused of murder, child abuse or other crimes.

- Independent