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Prior Restraint
12.6 Contempt proceedings
The court has jurisdiction to grant an injunction to restrain the publication of any material
that may constitute a ‘criminal contempt’ (see Chapter 10). An application for such an
injunction is usually made by the Attorney General; however, it appears that anyone with a
sufficiently proximate interest may also apply for an injunction. For an example, in one case
the Police Federation was granted an injunction to restrain a TV programme on grounds that
it would prejudice a pending inquest concerning a death in custody (Peacock v London
Weekend Television (1985)).
Because the prior restraint of a publication is a very serious interference with press freedom,
an injunction on grounds of contempt will only be granted where the publication would,
manifestly, be a contempt of court (A-G v BBC (1981)). However, an application to restrain
a manifestly contemptuous publication will not be refused simply because the defendant
seeks to argue that the statement is true.
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