Media warning to 'bomb plot' jury

By Chris Summers
BBC News, Woolwich Crown Court

The media interest in the trial is huge

The jury at the 21 July 'bomb plot' trial have been urged to keep their eyes on the ball and not be distracted by the media.

Mr Justice Fulford took time out at the start of Tuesday's proceedings to remind the nine women and three men on the jury that they were to judge the case solely on what they heard or saw in the courtroom.

His comments followed a Dispatches documentary on Channel 4 about the threat posed by radical Muslim preachers in a British mosque.

The judge told the jurors: "Whether the suggestions made in that programme about certain radical Muslim preachers were correct or incorrect, or somewhere in between, it was all utterly and completely irrelevant as regards the guilt or innocence of these accused.

Pictures of the 21/7 suspects

"If any of you saw it or heard of it, or if you read reviews of it in the newspapers, please ignore it completely.

"It's a very good example of why you should close your mind completely to the media and concentrate on what is said in this courtroom."

Mr Justice Fulford also pointed out a "glittering example" of a newspaper misreporting the facts of the trial.

He told them: "There is going to be quite a lot of reporting of the evidence in this case in the press. No doubt the journalists in this court will do their best to report faithfully what is said by counsel such as Mr Sweeney or by witnesses but sometimes journalists mishear or misreport what is said.

"There is a glittering example of this on the front page of one of today's broadsheets."

He warned them: "It's a very good example of why you must completely exclude what happens in the media and concentrate on what unravels in court over the next few weeks."

Jurors are routinely given such warnings and are discouraged from discussing cases they are trying, with relatives or friends who might have a view on it and have not heard the evidence.

All concerned will hope that the jury at Woolwich Crown Court will adhere to Mr Justice Fulford's advice and will not be unfairly distracted by TV documentaries, dramas or newspaper columnists.

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