Law chief warns media over Huntley court appearance

The media was urged yesterday to show restraint in its reporting of the first court appearance by Ian Huntley, the school caretaker charged with the murder of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, QC, the Government's senior law officer with ministerial responsibility for criminal prosecutions in England and Wales, said reporters and their editors should "exercise a great deal of care" to ensure they did not prejudice any future trial of Mr Huntley.

Security will be tight today when Mr Huntley, 28, a former caretaker at Soham Village College, Cambridgeshire, is driven from Rampton high security hospital to appear before magistrates in Peterborough. Last month an angry crowd jeered Mr Huntley's partner, Maxine Carr, 25, a former teaching assistant in Holly and Jessica's class at St Andrew's primary school, when she appeared at the same court on a charge of attempting to pervert justice. To avoid a repeat of ugly scenes, the court allowed Ms Carr to make her next appearance by video link from Holloway prison, north London, where she is being held on remand

Lord Goldsmith made it clear that any media reports which overstepped the mark would be dealt with firmly, and he confirmed that he was looking at earlier articles on the case which might have already breached the rules on contempt of court.

He told an international conference of prosecutors in London: "I'm going to study the papers that have been sent to me. Having a fair trial is absolutely crucial. I'm sure no member of the British public wants a fair trial to be prejudiced ... While there's legitimate, considerable interest in these terrible events at Soham, it's also now important that we let the criminal process follow its own course."

Mr Huntley was charged with the girls' murders on 20 August and is being held at Rampton under the provisions of mental health legislation.

A police spokesman said today's hearing would deal with administrative matters for the future conduct of proceedings including the prospect of the case being committed to the Crown Court for trial. Magistrates are not expected to consider Mr Huntley's mental state or seek a plea to the charges.

Lord Goldsmith said: "It's important that as this will be the first time Mr Huntley turns up at court, that everyone exercises a great deal of care about how that is reported. I think that on the whole the press do act responsibly but I haven't hesitated, and I won't hesitate in the future, to bring proceedings where I believe that a contempt has taken place."

News of Mr Huntley's court appearance was announced as children returned to school in Soham yesterday. Classmates of the 10-year-old girls at St Andrew's School released two white doves as a symbol of peace and remembrance. Sharon Chapman, Jessica's mother, watched the assembly with her other daughters Alison, 14, and Rebecca, 16. She has returned to her job at the school as a learning support assistant. Holly's brother Oliver, 12, was not thought to have been present.

Holly and Jessica went missing on 4 August. Their bodies were found two weeks later.