Family court hearings are for the first time to be open to the press, Justice Secretary Jack Straw told the Commons on Tuesday. From April, accredited media will be allowed to report hearings, unless the child’s welfare requires them not to be admitted, he said.

Adoption proceedings will not be open as this would require primary legislation.

Straw said the change, floated in government consultations in 2006 and 2007, ‘strikes the right balance in providing a more open, transparent and accountable system, while protecting children or families during a difficult and traumatic time in their lives’.

Some family judges and child protection organisations had criticised moves to open up the courts as a threat to the anonymity of participants.

Straw told journalists that he expects support so long as the default position was the protection of children’s identity.