§ Lord Spensasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any representations were made to the Attorney General or the Home Secretary, during the course of the "Guinness" trials, about the problems of extensive pre-trial publicity and what action was taken to ensure that the first trial was not prejudiced.
§ The Lord ChancellorA number of representations were made to the Attorney General that publications might amount to a contempt of court. Each was carefully considered but no case was sufficient to warrant intervention by the Attorney General. Guidance was issued to editors on two occasions in 1989.