Evening News cleared over naming killer Luke Mitchell

Published on Tuesday 13 September 2005 11:45

THE Evening News has been cleared of breaking the law by reporting that Luke Mitchell had been charged with the murder of his Midlothian girlfriend Jodi Jones.

The newspaper faced court action amid accusations that it should not have named Mitchell at the time of his arrest in April 2004 because he was only 15.

However, the Crown Office has now dropped the case and will not proceed with any action against the newspaper.

The decision was made after the Aberdeen Press and Journal was cleared in court of committing the same offence.

The Aberdeen-based Press and Journal followed the lead of the Evening News, the first newspaper to name Mitchell as the youth charged with the murder.

Lawyer Campbell Deane, who represents the Evening News, said the paper has been "vindicated".

Mitchell was only 15 at the time of his arrest in April last year and newspapers are not allowed to identify an accused person under 16 who is "involved in court proceedings".

But the Evening News and the Press and Journal named Mitchell before he actually appeared in court.

Both papers were accused of breaching the provisions of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act.

After an earlier trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, Aberdeen Journals, publisher of the Press and Journal, was found not guilty.

The Crown refused to let the matter rest and attempted to overturn the sheriff's ruling, but lost the appeal. The Evening News was scheduled to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to answer the same charge.

However, the Crown has decided not to take the matter further "because it was a dead duck", according to Mr Deane.

He added: "When the Evening News published the story, Luke Mitchell had been charged, but was not due to appear in court until the following day.

"So there was a window available in which to identify him."