Case background
The Attorney General has applied for an injunction against the BBC with a view to restraining publication of a story, which the Attorney General claim could jeopardise National Security.
On Saturday 22 January 2022, the Telegraph published an article claiming that the BBC was about to publish a story, which contained details of a spy working overseas. The BBC insists the news story is “overwhelmingly in the public interest.”
Oliver Sanders QC, representing the Attorney General, Suella Braverman, told the High Court that the case involved matters of national security and a breach of confidence.
The Government will take the BBC to Court in March in an attempt to prevent it from publishing or broadcasting the proposed news report.
The case is being heard by Mr Justice Chamberlain, who summed the case up as:
“This is a breach of confidence case where there is a dispute between the parties as to whether or not certain information can be published.”
For obvious reasons, part of the case was heard in private. Sanders requested this, telling the Court:
“In our submissions, the difficulty of proceeding in open Court is it makes it almost impossible to discuss the issue, in terms of what the case is about.”
After the private session, the judge confirmed that there had been a discussion about reporting of the case and it was determined that the Attorney General would file further witness evidence on the point. In the interim period, the Court ordered that the Attorney General should make available to the press and the public a redacted version of the Claim Form and Application Documents.
What are the next steps?
The Attorney General is currently considering whether to make an application for the closed material procedure under the Justice and Security Act 2013 to apply. The closed material procedure would enable the Attorney General to rely upon evidence without having to disclose it to the BBC.
A BBC spokesman said:
“We are unable to comment further at this stage, beyond confirming that we would not pursue any story unless it was overwhelmingly in the public interest to do so and fully in line with the BBC’s editorial standards and values.”
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office said:
“It would be inappropriate to comment further while proceedings are ongoing.”
How can we help?
Kevin Modiri is a Partner in our expert Dispute Resolution team.
Should you be concerned about a publication about you, please do not hesitate to contact Kevin or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.
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