Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, has taken the unusual move of seeking a gagging - or 'Public Interest Immunity (PII)' order to allow for parts of a murder trial to be held in private. This is though to be the first time that such an order has been used in relation to a murder trial and it is normally something that is invoked where issues of national security or intelligence are at stake. This begs the question of what did the murdered author Allan Chappelow know or what was he writing about that was so secret or revealing that is needs gagging.
The 86 year old recluse had been found dead at his home in Hampstead last June and 45 year old financial trader Wang Yam is on trial for the murder. The trial is due to start on the 23rd January with a hearing on 14th January to consider the gagging order.
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