Newspapers and agency found not in contempt

Two national newspapers and one of the State's best known news agencies escaped sanction at the Central Criminal Court yesterday following the publication of inaccurate media reports which led to a murder trial jury being discharged on Tuesday.

Mr Justice White discharged the jury in the trial of three men accused of murder in Drogheda two years ago after a report supplied by the Ireland International news agency appeared in the Star and the Irish Examiner.

The report incorrectly stated that the court had been told in evidence that the three murder accused had assaulted the victim. But in the case of one, Mr Robert Heaney (20), Hand Street, Drogheda, no evidence had been presented that he had assaulted the victim and the DPP had no intention of ever making such a case. He was facing the murder charge because the DPP believed he was part of a common enterprise.

When the report appeared in the newspapers it was accompanied by a photograph of Mr Heaney and his co-accused; Mr Mark Johnson (22), Church View Upper, Mell, Drogheda, and Mr Christopher Wood (26), Castle Grove, Julianstown, Co Meath.

They denied the murder of Russell Deane (28), Elmwood Drive, Drogheda, on February 1st, 2003 at his home.

On Monday Mr Justice White fined the Sun €100,000 after he found it in contempt of court arising from its coverage of the trial. He ruled that the paper had made a deliberate and conscious effort to prejudice the trial's outcome when it referred to the accused as "brutes".

Yesterday the managing director of Ireland International, Mr Diarmaid MacDermott, told the court his agency had not informed the Star or the Irish Examiner of the earlier difficulties experienced by the Sun in its reportage of the trial.

In future he would keep newspapers to which he supplied copy informed of developments which took place in the absence of the jury so they would be fully informed. Mr MacDermott said his agency had worked at the courts for more than 20 years and problems had never arisen with its reports. He said the Star and the Examiner accepted and printed in good faith the copy supplied to them by his agency.

The mistake resulted from "human error" at his company and he apologised. The author of the inaccurate report, Ms Siobhán Gaffney, said she was aware of the gravity of the situation she had caused. She had checked the offending report "20 times" before sending it to the newspapers but did not see her mistake. She apologised to the court and all involved in the case.

Star editor Mr Ger Colleran, and Examiner editor Mr Tim Vaughan, also apologised to court and all involved in the case for reproducing the inaccurate report.

Mr Justice White imposed no sanction and made no ruling on costs.