By Mary Stevens
An amendment to the sexual offences bill that would give anonymity to rape defendants is likely to be removed following its second reading, a Government spokesman has said.
But the spokesman also said the press and the police should debate the issue because of the concerns raised about the high-profile media coverage received by those wrongly accused of sexual violence.
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The Newspaper Society has been campaigning against the amendment, arguing that it is at odds with the principles of open justice. Sue Oake, legal adviser at the NS, said: “We would be happy to play a very constructive role in any discussions.” The calls for a change to the law have been prompted by a number of cases in which a well-known person has been wrongly accused of rape, such as in the case of snooker player Quentin Hann and ex-Tory politician Neil Hamilton and his wife. The accuser is entitled to anonymity.
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