(Daily) Mail and Mirror guilty of contempt in Levi Bellfield case (Milly Dowler's killer)
Source: The Guardian
The Daily Mail and Daily Mirror have been found guilty of contempt of court over their coverage of Levi Bellfield's conviction for the abduction and murder of schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
Bellfield was convicted on 23 June 2011, but the judge dismissed the Old Bailey jury before they could reach a verdict on a second charge, that he had also allegedly attempted to abduct schoolgirl Rachel Cowles, blaming media coverage.
In a judgment handed down at the high court in London on Wednesday, Sir John Thomas, the president of the Queen's Bench Division, and Mr Justice Tugendhat said coverage in the two newspapers did "significantly exacerbate" the risk of serious prejudice to the high-profile jury trial.
Thomas, speaking on behalf of both judges, said: "I am sure that each publication did create such a substantial risk of serious prejudice.
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jul/18/mail-mirror-levi-bellfield
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