Lib Dem MP John Hemming adds to political pressure for clearer regulation of court order system
The text of the superinjunction obtained by the banker Sir Fred Goodwin has been handed to the Treasury select committee so that MPs can examine whether it raises public interest issues.
The latest manoeuvre by John Hemming, the Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley, adds to political pressure for clearer regulation of the system of secretive court orders.
Hemming has previously exploited parliamentary privilege to reveal the existence of the ban which, he said, prevented Goodwin, the former head of the Royal Bank of Scotland, from even "being identified as a banker".
He told the Guardian he had given the superinjunction to the committee in case its contents related to financial or public affairs.
Goodwin, who presided over the near collapse of RBS, became popularly known as Fred the Shred through his costs and jobs cutting. He was forced to step down in 2008 as a non-negotiable condition of the bank's £20bn bailout by the taxpayer.
"I can't tell you what's in the injunction," explained Hemming. "It will be up to the committee to consider whether there's a public interest in it or not. I believe it might be of public interest and they should have a look at it.
"They might decide to ask him questions or invite him to an 'in camera' session. If they want, they can publish it." He believes that superinjunctions are creating one law for the rich who want to suppress embarrassing allegations, and another for the poor.
Hemming called on parliament to legislate about what constitutes an individual's right to privacy and where the media's right to freedom of expression begins.
"Parliament needs to give a clear line where that balance should be," he said. "We need statutory guidance for the judiciary. The judges have changed their interpretation of the law."
One judgment that may significantly shift the balance is the ruling, due to be released on 10 May, by the European court of human rights over the challenge brought by Max Mosley, the former Formula One Association president.
Mosley, who successfully sued the News of the World in 2008 over a story detailing his sexual activities with prostitutes, has argued that newspapers should notify people before stories are published about them.
Robin Shaw, who represented Private Eye in the case that forced the BBC interviewer Andrew Marr to relax the terms of a superinjunction banning reporting of an extra-marital affair, said: "The law is not unworkable at the moment but it's a bit uncertain.
"It would help to have more clarity and guidelines about when injunctions should be granted. If Mosley is successful ... then one of the nightmares is that it could cover anything."
Last week David Cameron accused judges of creating a privacy law and usurping parliament's legislating role.
Asked whether the government would draft a privacy law, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "[We] recognise the importance of finding the correct balance between individual rights to privacy on one hand with rights to freedom of expression and transparency of official information on the other.
"The government's proposed reforms of the law of defamation are one aspect of this balancing process. Another is the Master of the Rolls' committee to examine the use of super-injunctions and other issues relating to injunctions which bind the press."
The committee is due to report next month. "The government will await the report from the Master of the Rolls Committee before deciding on next steps.," the MoJ said.