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The shadow justice secretary risked allowing Lenny Scott's murderer to walk free by posting about the case during the trial.
Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood suggested her counterpart Robert Jenrick "risked the possibility of a murderer walking free" following an "unacceptable" X post. Shadow justice secretary and shadow lord chancellor Mr Jenrick was criticised in court during the Lenny Scott murder trial for posting on social media about the active criminal case.
Mr Jenrick's post was brought before the presiding high court judge by both the prosecution and defence due to fears over a possible contempt of court. Mr Justice Goose called the post "ill thought through" while senior defence counsel Caroline Goodwin KC branded the comments "appalling, outrageous and egregious".
Mr Jenrick's X post said: "Lenny exposed corruption and took on the gangster controlling a prison wing. He received threats to his life, but he was left unsupported. Four years later he was shot dead. That will enrage any decent person. We need radical change, now."
Ms Goodwin, who represented the gunman Elias Morgan during the trial, added that the post "put [Mr Jenrick's] political ambitions first and the requirements of justice second", the ECHO reports.
Speaking at a House of Lords constitution committee about the rule of law on Wednesday, Labour front-bencher Ms Mahmood said no parliamentarian should be "risking a contempt and the possibility of a murderer walking free".
She added: "There are just some very important rules that all politicians with their huge platforms should bear in mind. It will be an absolute travesty of justice if somebody walks free from a murder charge because of social media activities and the desire to have a viral tweet. That is, and always will be, unacceptable."
Morgan, who murdered former prison officer Mr Scott in a "revenge attack" on February 8, 2024, outside a gym in Skelmersdale was unanimously convicted by a jury last week, Friday. The 35-year-old, of Highgate Street in Edge Hill, was jailed for 45 years.
The ECHO had repeated attempts to reach Mr Jenrick for a comment, but received no response.
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