UK PM Cameron speaks out about Twitter injunction

Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken out on UK daytime television show ‘Daybreak' about the latest injunction which has stopped the English press releasing information on a high profile celebrity in the UK.

Cameron says that the government need to review current privacy laws in England, after the identity of a well known individual was shared on Twitter despite being protected by a court injunction. This well known individual was said to have ‘cheated' on his wife with Imogen Thomas, a Big Brother reality TV star.

Cameron said that it was unfair and ‘rather unsustainable' that newspapers in England could not print information that is commonly known online. He said that “the law is the law” and that judges will be called upon to interpret existing legislation.

He added “What I've said in the past is the danger is that judgements are effectively writing a new law, which is what parliament is meant to do. “So I think the government — parliament — has got to take some time out, have a proper look at this, have a think about what we can do. But I'm not sure there is going to be a simple answer.”

The person who filed the injunction, has been known only as ‘CTB'. He filed a suit against Twitter and undisclosed individuals for publishing details identifying him on the social networking site. These details have been protected by a gagging order, known as a ‘super-injunction'. Super injunctions stop any publication in England and Wales from revealing the existence of an injunction, which in itself prevents the publication of a story.

Twitter has always been about ‘free speech'. The identity of the celebrity is already well known in the UK, even though the newspapers can't report on it in detail. A Scottish newspaper released the information at the weekend, alongside pictures, saying that they don't fall under the same laws as England. A user on twitter said ‘Its great they released the information, but it seems so slow, its like releasing information on the Titanic sinking'.

SkyNewsBreak has just released information on the identity of the footballer, after Lib Dem MP John Hemming named him at the House Of Commons as the ‘footballer at the center of the injunction.' Other UK news sites are only now releasing the information on their websites.

KitGuru says: Instead of killing the story, it has only raised it higher.

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