Next week's broadcast of a BBC documentary has forced the adjournment of a riot trial due to start at Bradford Crown Court on Tuesday.
The Trouble Up North programme, which will be screened on BBC2 on Monday night, focuses on families campaigning against the lengthy sentences passed on rioters who have already been dealt with for their part in last year's violence.
But yesterday, the BBC released a copy of the 40-minute programme so that prosecution and defence counsel involved in the trial of Javed Khan could view its content. When they returned to court, prosecutor Simon Jackson said it was their joint view that Mr Khan's trial should be adjourned in order to ensure he received a fair trial.
He said it was thought that whatever publicity resulted from the broadcast, should be allowed to "settle and dissipate" before the matter was tried.
The Honorary Recorder of Bradford, Judge Stephen Gullick, said while most of the programme does not say "anything new" in the light of local press coverage, he had to consider the fact that it was in a visual, concentrated form and it was to be put out just 11 hours before the trial was due to start.
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