Broadcasting trials may result in the public better appreciating the value of legal aid - but there are potentially grave problems associated with breaching the privacy of those involved, criminal law solicitors have warned.

The Lord Chancellor is to make a statement before Christmas on 'the way forward' for televising criminal trials, according to a Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) spokesman.


But the DCA denied that the statement will be the consultation paper or comprehensive proposals predicted in the national press, as there is not enough time to do anything so detailed.


The spokesman told the Gazette that Lord Falconer is 'strongly' of the opinion that witnesses, juries and defendants should not be filmed.


Criminal Law Solicitors Association chairman, Ian Kelcey, said that bringing court cases to TV might bring home the worth of legal aid and the profession, but that it was vital that it did not produce the legal grandstanding that sometimes happens when trials are broadcast in the US.


Mr Kelcey also cautioned that showing the defendant might have currently unseen negative impacts. 'There may be people in prison who are keeping their record secret for good reason,' he said, adding that such secrecy might also benefit the Prison Service because it reduces the number of potential assaults and prisoners in isolation.


Desmond Hudson, chief executive of the Law Society's representative arm, said: 'Bringing cameras into courts could demystify the courts and increase public understanding of the justice system. However, if changes are to be made, they must be implemented in a way that safeguards the privacy of jurors, witnesses and victims.'