Cases

Re Stedman & Patten (& Others)

Facts

On 13 Feb 2009, The Sun reported the birth of a child to two children aged 12 and 15. The mother, Chantelle named Alfie as the father. This provoked enormous media interest both in the UK and all over the world. A video interview with the children was made available on The Sun's website. Suggestions then appeared that Alfie might not be the father and that another boy, Tyler, 14, might be the father. On 18 Feb 2009, an injunction preventing the soliciting of information and restricting reporting was imposed, subject to a public domain exception.

On 26 Mar 2009, a Daily Mirror article revealed that a DNA test had proved that Alfie was not the father. This information was widely reported in foreign media. The Local Authority applied for and was granted an urgent variation to the injunction to prevent any further publication of this information. It also sought an order rescinding the public domain exception to the order in respect of all images of the children.

Also