Newspapers may have been in contempt of court with Milly Dowler coverage, says judge

Mr Justice Wilkie said he had to stop a jury from delivering a verdict on Levi Bellfield's alleged attempted kidnap of one girl because of coverage of his conviction of the murder of another.

Levi Bellfield was convicted of the murder of 13 year-old Milly Dowler last week. Newspapers published so much material about Bellfield that Mr Justice Wilkie said the jury could not be expected to reach a fair verdict on the alleged attempted kidnap of Rachel Cowles, according to a report by the Press Gazette.

Newspapers are prevented from publishing certain material about someone accused of a crime while that trial is going on and whilst their reporting might influence juries.

A spokeswoman for Dominic Grieve, the Attorney General, told OUT-LAW that his office had received Mr Justice Wilkie's complaint.

"Media coverage following the conviction of Levi Bellfield for the murder of Milly Dowler has been referred to the Attorney General," the spokeswoman told OUT-LAW.

"[The Attorney General] will consider whether there has been possible contempt of court," the spokeswoman said.

During court proceedings last week Mr Justice Wilkie said it was "inevitable" that he would have to refer the matter to the Attorney General's Office, which has the power to bring contempt of court charges in England and Wales, according to a report by the Press Gazette.

Some newspapers reporting on Bellfield's conviction published background information about him which Mr Justice Wilkie said had "strayed" into allegations "of a hugely prejudicial nature", the Press Gazette said.

"This is most unfortunate and, in a sense, deplorable," Mr Justice Wilkie said, according to the Press Gazette report.

"The only person who is going to be affected by what has happened and most affected adversely has been Rachel Cowles and her family. She has had to live for nine years with what happened to her and she has given evidence in court which has no doubt been an ordeal for her," Mr Justice Wilkie said, according to the report.

"As a result of the trigger being pulled too soon on what would otherwise have been proper and appropriate material, I have been put in a position where I am obliged to discharge the jury from reaching a verdict in her case," the judge said, according to the Press Gazette.

"It is no longer possible for any jury in receipt of this volume and nature of material to give fair and proper consideration to its verdicts at this stage," the judge said, according to the report.

"It does seem to me that at the very least the legitimate question arises, whether by publishing this material these organisations may have committed a contempt of court," Mr Justice Wilkie said, according to the report.

Bellfield's legal representative had called the media coverage "an avalanche" of adverse publicity and said that nothing the judge could tell jurors would remove the "very real risk of prejudice", according to the Press Gazette.

Mr Justice Wilkie said the "great prominence" of the coverage meant it was "unrealistic" for jurors not to have been exposed to it and said it was with "great reluctance" that he was discharging them from considering the attempted kidnap charge against Bellfield, according to the Press Gazette report.