The senior editors of Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper are being threatened with imprisonment. The country's director of public prosecutions is seeking an order to commit the editor-in-chief of the Irish Independent, Stephen Rae, and its editor, Claire Grady, to prison for contempt of court.
At a Dublin high court hearing on Monday (21 July), the DPP also sought the sequestration of the assets of the paper's publisher, Independent News & Media (INM).
The legal action concerns material published by the Independent the previous Thursday (17 July), headlined "Anglo: The new tapes revealed", and on two subsequent days.
The articles were a further twist in a long-running story about the controversy surrounding the collapse of the Anglo Irish Bank. They revealed details of a taped conversation between the bank's then chief executive and another senior executive.
Ireland's prosecutor claimed the publishing of the material prejudiced the proper administration of justice in relation to criminal trials pending against former Anglo officials. It amounted to a breach of the sub judice principle.
For its part, the Irish Independent denied that it was in contempt of court.
After initial submissions, the president of the high court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, briefly adjourned the hearing to allow discussions between the two sides.
When it resumed, he was told that the Independent had agreed to remove certain portions of the Anglo tapes from its website, without prejudice to its position.
The judge then adjourned the matter until tomorrow (Friday).
Sources: Irish Independent/Irish Times
