Judges who oversaw Sara Sharif care cases before her murder fear risks if they are named
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The judges who oversaw court proceedings about Sara Sharif's care before she was murdered have "serious concerns" about the risks to them and their families if they are now named, the Court of Appeal has been told. Mr Justice Williams ruled in December that the media could not identify three judges who oversaw historical family court cases related to Sara, as well as others including social workers and guardians, due to a "real risk" of harm from a "virtual lynch mob".
The judge added that arguing the individuals involved in those proceedings were responsible for Sara's death aged just 10 was "equivalent to holding the lookout on the Titanic responsible for its sinking". Now several media organisations are challenging the ban on naming the judges, arguing that they should be identified in the interests of transparency.
Titanic analogy 'bizarre and wrong', court told. In written submissions, the three unnamed judges told the Court of Appeal that they wanted "to convey their profound shock, horror and sadness about what happened to Sara Sharif". Mathew Purchase KC, on their behalf, continued in the written submissions that the judges felt unable to make arguments "on the difficult questions raised by this appeal", including due to constitutional and ethical concerns about individual judges being involved in debates about their roles.
