Kenneth Clarke treads carefully over Ryan Giggs gag furore

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke has raised concerns about the "growing habit" of MPs using parliamentary privilege to bypass court gagging orders.

He called on the House authorities to introduce guidance about "what is proper and what is not" but suggested it was not something the government wanted to tackle.

His comments came after Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming last month named English Premier League footballer Ryan Giggs in the Commons as the subject of a super-injunction.

Asked during evidence to the Joint Committee on the Draft Defamation Bill whether he was considering extending the privilege, Mr Clarke said the coalition was "looking at" the subject but "treading with care".

He added: "It can be argued that in modern times there is a growing habit of abusing parliamentary privilege."

On the possibility of extending parliamentary privilege to the reporting of proceedings in the Commons and Lords, Mr Clarke cautioned about the "danger" of creating a platform for untrue claims.

He told the committee: "If somebody wants to defame a rival or enemy (they] could conceivably find a peer or member of the House of Commons prepared to use parliamentary privilege to make statements about the victim with complete privilege and it's then open season for everyone to print it."