Courts / Ireland / Report
Daily Mail admits contempt of court over headline during Kriegel trial
2019-07-04
Sentence
Summary
Associated News (Ireland) Ltd, owners of the Daily Mail, pleaded guilty to contempt of court regarding a headline published on May 3 during the Ana Kriegel murder trial. The headline, "CCTV shows Ana being lured to her death," was deemed by Mr Justice Paul McDermott as calculated to incite public outrage. The company accepted responsibility, with CEO Paul Henderson apologising and stating the error occurred because changes were made to journalist Helen Bruce's copy without her consultation. The DPP's counsel, Brendan Grehan, described the publication as an error and noted the company offered to pay costs. Defence counsel Eoin McCullough SC argued for a nominal penalty, citing the company's clean record and the fact that the trial was not aborted. Regarding Daily Mail Editor Mr Sebastian Hamilton, counsel argued he should not face a criminal conviction as he had left the office before the copy was altered and had established a consultation system that was not followed. Mr Grehan countered that editorial responsibility must rest with the editor. Mr Justice McDermott reserved his decision on the sentence for Monday, meaning the matter was adjourned and not yet finalised.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Daily Mail admits contempt of court over headline during Kriegel trial. Charges or matters: contempt of court. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- May 3 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2019-07-04 Publication
Why: The issue arose, he said, because changes were made to the copy she had written and she was not consulted. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: contempt of court (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Mr Grehan said the headline and a sentence below it should not have been published.
Topics
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