Permission granted for contempt action over Bellfield coverage

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The attorney general Dominic Grieve has been granted permission to pursue proceedings for possible contempt of court against the publishers of the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror in relation to coverage of the aftermath of the Levi Bellfield trial, his office confirmed today. In June this year Grieve warned that he was assessing whether press reporting of Bellfield's conviction for the murder of Milly Dowler was contempt of court. While Bellfield had been convicted of Dowler's murder a jury was still due to hear a charge against him of the attempted abduction of Rachel Cowles, but following what defence lawyers called an "avalanche of adverse publicity" Mr Justice Wilkie decided to discharge the jury. At a

hearing today the attorney general was granted permission to allow him to pursue his action following referral to his office for consideration.

This comes a day after Grieve was granted permission to take action for contempt for court against Sky News for its coverage of the release of Paul and Rachel Chandler, who were held hostage by Somali pirates.

Grieve has already brought several contempt cases against the UK media during his 18 months as attorney general, including a successful prosecution of the Sun and the Daily Mirror in July over their coverage of the arrest of Chris Jefferies. Grieve may also prosecute the Spectator magazine over an article by columnist Rod Liddle published last week. The article was referred to the attorney general by the judge in the Stephen Lawrence murder trial, who instructed the members of the jury not to read it.

Neither the Daily Mail or Daily Mirror had responded to a request for comment at the time of writing.