New Charter to improve media access to courts

[Alison J Stevens]

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-charter-to-improve-media-acc...

Now the Family Courts are open to accredited Journalists and other experienced Court bloggers.

A journalist Brian Morgan a good few years ago Got permission to appeal within the High Court to name a Paediatrician who gave evidence within the Family Court arena.

Coventry City Council were going to instigate Care Proceedings on a Mother who the Paediatrician diagnosed T with MSBP FII,without ever meeting her in Person.

The so called Professional was not even adequately to make such a diagnosis.

MSBP should be diagnosed by a Consultant Psychiatrist.

In this case the Judge ordered the Local Authority to pay the Parents legal fees.

At that time the children were not taking into care, the parents at the time won their case.

The children's names in this case could not be identified.

The Paediatrician was finally named.

In this case it was good that the Paediatrician was named.

In another case the local press in my area, vilified a couple as child abusers after their daughter was diagnosed with an unexplained fracture, and the injury was classed as non accidental.

There was no evidence for the CPS to take on a criminal Court hearing.

The child was not taken into care but placed on the child protection register/

It came out later that the child was diagnosed with OI, brittle bone disease.

The Parents names were exonerated, the local press then called the parents and asked them to tell their story.

Because the parents were vilified several months earlier the parents stated that they would not cooperate with the press.

But two weeks later the journalist that vilified the parents wrote a story about them anyway.

Judge rules that paediatrician who was criticised as an expert witness can be named

https://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d3015