Criminal Justice Bill
SIR,—I find myself at variance with the comment by R. A. Cline in his article on the Criminal Justice Bill (December 9). He welcomes the restriction on report- ing of committals.
It may be that our reports do fill the newspaper columns, but there was more to it than that. The reporting of committals is the best possible antidote to the circulation of false reports. Rumour, parti- cularly in provincial towns, can spread very rapidly, and it is only the publication of the facts at as early a date as possible in the local press that can stop it.
The Guild of British Newspaper Editors has for- mally protested about the suggested restrictions. Another point which distresses us is the fact that nothing has been written into the Criminal Justice Bill to make it obligatory for the press to be provided with the names, addresses, and other relevant in- formation about defendants. Until this is done un- necessary handicaps are put in the way of the press and their desire for accurate court reporting at all times.
I. CLEMENT JONES
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