Don’t turn justice into a show trial

MY HEART sank to see Sarah Munro QC make legal history as the first crown court judge in England and Wales to be filmed live on TV last week.

The coverage was strictly limited to the judge, as she jailed Ben Oliver for life, with a minimum term of ten years and eight months, for the manslaughter of his abusive grandfather.

But I fear a slippery slope. I’ve watched TV coverage of trials in

America. The fiasco of Johnny Depp v Amber Heard earlier this year; the performance of OJ Simpson and his flashy lawyers; and the humiliation of the young English nanny Louise Woodward, in the 1990s.

The most serious of issues become entertainment for the masses: that must never happen here.