BRITAIN: The UK's Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, warned British newspapers last night that increasingly fevered coverage of rape allegations against eight Premiership footballers could prejudice any future trial.
Lord Goldsmith's intervention came in the wake of widespread coverage of allegations by a 17-year-old girl that she was attacked in a central London hotel by the footballers.
The allegations were carried on the front pages of several newspapers yesterday, as well as on broadcast media and the Internet, where websites carried the names of players rumoured to be involved.
The Daily Sport meanwhile published the name of a club it claimed was at the centre of the investigation, accompanied by an editorial which said it would be "foolhardy" to name individuals.
As investigators from Operation Sapphire, Scotland Yard's specialist sex crimes unit, viewed CCTV footage and completed a forensic search of rooms at the Grovesnor House hotel, where the attack is alleged to have taken place, concerns were raised at the prospect of the players' names becoming public.
Mr David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, is keen to avoid legislation and is known to be concerned that if the footballers' names do become widely known, the case could be cited by MPs in favour of legislation to restrict what the media can report in such cases.
Currently, newspapers and other media are bound by defamation laws and the UK's Contempt of Court Act, which is intended to prevent prejudicial information reaching the public domain but is rarely invoked.
In his guidance to editors, Lord Goldsmith said he was concerned that evidence in the case was not distorted by "potentially prejudicial reporting" and warned editors not to allow their staff to approach potential witnesses.
Mr Paul Gilbert, a media lawyer at the legal firm of Finers Stephens Innocent, said that a swift conclusion to the police investigation was crucial both to the fair treatment of the individuals involved and the interests of justice.
The police yesterday said they had begun liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service, but declined to say whether charges were likely. - (Guardian Service)