Contempt Proceedings against Hain Dropped; IT'S A VICTORY FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH, SAYS NEATH MP

Beginning of article

Byline: STEVEN MCCAFFERY, MICHAEL MCHUGH; JOE CHURCHER

COURT proceedings against former Welsh Secretary Peter Hain over comments in his memoirs about a judge were dropped at the High Court in Belfast yesterday.

The contempt of court case against Mr Hain, the Neath MP and a former Northern Ireland Secretary, was shelved after he wrote to the province's Attorney General John Larkin QC clarifying remarks he made about a High Court judge in his autobiography.

In the letter, Mr Hain said he had never intended to question Lord Justice Paul Girvan's motivation in handling a judicial review and had not been questioning his capabilities as a judge.

And his …