Sun bids to lift injunction for second time today after MP names Ryan Giggs

The Sun is to go back to the high court for the second time today in a bid to lift a gagging order obtained by a footballer after MP John Hemming named the player in parliament.

Most major news organisations have now identified Ryan Giggs as the footballer involved in the injunction row following Hemming's statement in the House of Commons.

The high court has confirmed that Mr Justice Tugendhat has convened an emergency hearing after a second bid today by the Sun newspaper to have the gagging order overturned.

Earlier today My Justice Eady ruled against the newspaper's bid to have the injunction lifted, as he did in last week's hearing.

Giggs was identified yesterday by Scottish national the Sunday Herald, which printed a picture of him on its front page. The player has also been repeatedly named on Twitter over the previous week, but Eady ruled that the actions of Twitter users and the newspaper "made no difference" to the injunction.

Tugendhat may now overturn Eady's decision after the widespread naming of Giggs by the national press.

According to a Guardian report, this is what Hemming said in the House of Commons:

"Mr Speaker, with about 75,000 people having named Ryan Giggs on Twitter it is impractical to imprison them all and with reports that Giles Coren is facing imprisonment ..."

At which point speaker John Bercow interrupted to chastise Hemming:

"Let me just say to the honourable gentleman, I know he's already done it, but occasions such as this are occasions for raising the issues of principle involved, not seeking to flout for whatever purpose.

"If the honourable gentleman wants to finish his question in an orderly way he can do so."

Hemming also named Giles Coren as the journalist supposedly threatened with legal action for identifying on Twitter another footballer protected by an injunction.

Speaking on Radio 4's PM Programme after the Commons session, Hemming said he named Giggs because the player was threatening "relatively ordinary people" with legal action for gossiping.

"I worry greatly about this country's willingness to lock people up in secret. You have the situation, as I mentioned with Giles Coren as well.

"I really don't think that we should allow a situation where people are prosecuted and potentially jailed for two years, and it all happens in secret and you can't know who it's being done to or what's being done ... The first step of identifying who people are has started."

Image by gordonflood.com on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

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