Ben Lowry: ​The News Letter reported legal concerns about the Gillen plans for sex case overhaul

When the Gillen report on the handling of sex trials was released in 2019, the News Letter was alone in reporting concerns about it.
Sir Richard Henriques, the judge who examined Operation Midland when London police believed a fantasist’s claims about paedophile sex, told the News Letter that false complaints are made at times, and should not be regarded as a remote possibilitySir Richard Henriques, the judge who examined Operation Midland when London police believed a fantasist’s claims about paedophile sex, told the News Letter that false complaints are made at times, and should not be regarded as a remote possibility
Sir Richard Henriques, the judge who examined Operation Midland when London police believed a fantasist’s claims about paedophile sex, told the News Letter that false complaints are made at times, and should not be regarded as a remote possibility
By Ben Lowry
Published 30th Sep 2023, 04:05 BST

(Click here for Ben Lowry’s main story about the twists and turns that led to the Irish Sea border)

We reported the top legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg tell a Belfast audience of lawyers that included Les Allamby of NI Human Rights Commission, the then NI lord chief justice, Sir Declan Morgan, and indeed Sir John Gillen himself: “The reason the UK Supreme Court was here [in Belfast] was to bring the court to the people ... We certainly don’t want to go in the other direction.”

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Mr Rozenberg told this newspaper that banning the public from trials should be “almost the last resort”.

We reported grave concerns at the proposal for judges to tell jurors in sex trials about alleged “rape myths” such as that false rape allegations are rife. The QC Chris Daw said: "Just giving the jury more and more reasons to disbelieve the defendant is again just fundamentally unfair."

We reported Sir Richard Henriques, the judge who issued a scathing report into the £4.5m Operation Midland when London police believed a fantasist’s claims about paedophile sex, who told us “false complaints are made from time to time, and should not be regarded as a remote possibility”.

Yet the Gillen report is now law. You will have seen on page six of today’s paper (or click here for the story) some of the implications of that law.

• Ben Lowry (@BenLowry2) is News Letter editor

Related topics:Ben LowryRichard HenriquesBelfastIrish Sea