Carter-Ruck do not give up.
The law firm Carter-Ruck has made a fresh move that could stop an MPs’ debate next week by claiming a controversial injunction it has obtained is “sub judice”.
The move follows the revelation of the existence of a secret “super-injunction” obtained by the firm on behalf of the London-based oil traders Trafigura.
The injunction not only bans disclosure of a confidential report on Trafigura and toxic waste, but also banned disclosure of the injunction’s very existence, until it was revealed by an MP this week under parliamentary privilege.
Carter-Ruck partner Adam Tudor today sent a letter to the Speaker, John Bercow, and also circulated it to every single MP and peer, saying they believed the case was “sub judice”.
If correct, it would mean that, under Westminster rules to prevent clashes between parliament and the courts, a debate planned for next Wednesday could not go ahead.
Hopefully David T of Harry’s Place is correct and Carter-Ruck have over-reached. Otherwise, freedom of speech is in a bad way in this country.
3 Comments
I’d like to comment on this but there’s a risk that if I speak candidly I will get sued and this blog will get sued. So much for freedom of speech!
Startling that such a level of secrecy could be obtained, even for awhile, by a ‘not particularly important or large’ corporate enterprise.
The U.K. seems lacking, when such a limiting of the freedom of speech is possible, legally, by a ‘ Trafigura”.
As to Trafigura, what i read/saw in Canada about their Mexican ‘oil’ caper, if true, was damning.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/16/carter-ruck-abandon-minton-injunction