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| Witness ruling halts murder trial | Witness ruling halts murder trial |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A £6m murder trial has been halted at the Old Bailey following a Law Lords ruling that it is unlawful for witnesses to give evidence anonymously. | A £6m murder trial has been halted at the Old Bailey following a Law Lords ruling that it is unlawful for witnesses to give evidence anonymously. |
| Judge David Paget said the trial - of two men accused of shooting dead a 50-year-old businessman in east London - had been "derailed" by the ruling. | Judge David Paget said the trial - of two men accused of shooting dead a 50-year-old businessman in east London - had been "derailed" by the ruling. |
| He told the jury: "You have heard evidence from a number of witnesses that you should not have heard." | He told the jury: "You have heard evidence from a number of witnesses that you should not have heard." |
| The case, the first affected by last week's ruling, will be retried in 2009. | The case, the first affected by last week's ruling, will be retried in 2009. |
| Change the law | |
| Four witnesses had given evidence under false names and from behind screens during the two-month trial of the two men accused of killing Charles Butler in 2004. | |
| The Law Lords ruled that defendants in criminal trials had a legal right to know the identity of witnesses testifying against them. | The Law Lords ruled that defendants in criminal trials had a legal right to know the identity of witnesses testifying against them. |
| But Justice Secretary Jack Straw said there was a real need for some witnesses to have their identities protected. | But Justice Secretary Jack Straw said there was a real need for some witnesses to have their identities protected. |
| He vowed to change the law "as quickly as possible" to allow the right to anonymity to be restored. | He vowed to change the law "as quickly as possible" to allow the right to anonymity to be restored. |
| 'Grave concern' | |
| A number of other cases in progress around the country could be affected by the ruling. | |
| Several recent, high-profile trials have also used anonymous witness testimony, including those following the murders of schoolboy Michael Dosunmu and care worker Magda Pniewska. | |
| Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates said the ruling was a cause for "grave concern". | |
| The Met's specialist Trident squad has encouraged witnesses to come forward to help prosecute gun crime on the assurance that they could remain completely anonymous. |