SecretCourtReporter

If you thought security at Wimbledon and Lavender Hill traffic court was oppressive then take a trip to the rarely-visited Ealing Magistrates' Court, where last week I was asked to remove my mobile phone from its case because I may have secreted a thin blade behind it.

At a recent assault trial the defence solicitor said: "Oh, hello. We have been expecting you." This mystery was solved when he revealed my previous press enquiry to @HMCTSgovuk had been uploaded to Common Platform for all parties to see! This is routine for all press enquiries!

@laurenamonaghan It is very important you challenge/fight this. Those with a perceived sense of authority commonly do this. It is always the most small-minded and ill-informed who try and enforce petty rules of their own imagination. Happens to me all the time despite @HMCTSgovuk media guidance.

I was told before Nottinghamshire County Council’s meeting today media had to sit upstairs - we usually sit in the chamber. No solid reason why. Reports of several empty seats in the chamber - random. We’ve argued it. Told I’ll be allowed back in after lunch. #LDReporter

Please stop bringing to court your precious little water bottles, containers and sports drinks, which you think are vital to your survival. You are not in the Sahara/Kalahari. You will NOT suffer dehydration and die, plus the security queue will move much faster.

@BryanGr68681814 @Katie_Cronin @aswren To be fair, I don't often visit your courthouse. Once I turned up without my press card and had to cover the case from the public gallery above. What an absolute nightmare that was - all deliberately manufactured by the security staff who threatened to ban me from the building!

@SecretHMCTS @Katie_Cronin @aswren Clearly you don't visit the Old Bailey

Court reporting is dead. Back when papers could afford it they would have dedicated court reporters, then they relied on relationships with people in the court tipping them off, but all those people retired. Now they look at listings & the government is killing that too

The CPS lawyer here at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court clearly does not speak English as a first language. She has been asked to slow down by the bench Chairwoman when giving the facts of an alleged rape and had had to repeat a word that the Chair found impossible to comprehend.

I was a victim of the notorious security queue at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court today and missed the case I was here for even though I arrived well before 10.00am. If you visit please do not bring drinks/perfumes/cosmetics/nasal sprays/bags/rucksacks/laptops and DON'T WEAR A BELT!

@Katie_Cronin @aswren Wow. I must be polluting the court reporting game with my own presence. The court clerks and court ushers I meet do everything to block/restrict/frustrate what I do. Never met one who didn't enjoy saying the word 'no'.

@aswren Very much alive court reporter here, who works with great court clerks and ushers who are incredibly helpful.

@aswren I've never heard of this. What have I missed out on!? Is it still available?

People are getting very confused about what courtdesk is/was. It’s not some repository of court documents it was a service that gave journalists listings from magistrates courts and let them find out what trials were being held/report on delays etc

On this evening's @BBCLondonNews reporter @HarryLow49 told viewers a suspect had been arrested for 'murder' after the double stabbings of schoolchildren in Brent. However, both victims were in hospital being treated for their injuries. Nobody was deceased. Poor.

Northampton's Youth Justice Service just told magistrates a 16 year-old prolific burglar from the travelling community should be locked-up while awaiting Crown Court trial. No bail options. They washed their hands of him after multiple breaches and warrants. A rare call.

Wow. An impressive listing a today's Isleworth Crown Court : - A**** S**** - (CP) Defendant to attend - Court can offer Trial Date: 01/04/2030. Is this really an April's Fool joke?

Today, outside former Wimbledon Magistrates' Court where in summer 1938 crowds gathered to see murderer George Brain, 27, after the killing of Rose Atkins, 30, opposite All England Club on July 14. Convicted at Old Bailey September 21. Hanged HMP Wandsworth November 1.

@gamecounsel Full names are not announced and spellings are often an issue.

@SecretHMCTS Why do you need to ask? It's announced in court.

Is it time to stop asking for the prosecutor's name pre-hearing? Last week, a female CPS lawyer alerted my presence to the defence rep. This eliminates the 'fly on the wall' reporter role and suddenly the defence are in a press battle to suppress info and pic opportunities.

Amazing, incredible, a true breakthrough. I'm stunned the @metpoliceuk have issued the custody image of a young man (Tsidi Winion, 20) who has today been charged with murder. Getting them to release convicted offenders' images is usually notoriously difficult. Major policy shift.

@MouseInTheCourt Note to reporters: You will probably get nothing from court staff; court clerks; legal advisors; lawyers. They love the word "no." Always go to the top and apply directly to Judges/Magistrates. You are far more likely to get a positive result.

Standing up at the end of a Crown Court hearing to request skeleton arguments - after limited engagement from the parties - is something that just has to be done at times to secure open justice Pleased to say my request was approved

Victory at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court! Resistant staff were ordered to designate press seating, but then deliberately put it in the worst place possible. I kept fighting and have now won our press bench/desk back. Staff told me: "Somebody kept complaining."

Next door to the current Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court the old Surrey County Hall, which contains this Crown Court courtroom, is currently being converted into (you guessed it) flats. (I've heard the extra wood panelling and grand pillars are plastic for tv productions).

You must do better @metpoliceuk. Below is the pathetically small image (160 pixels x 200 pixels) you released of convicted murderer Areece Lloyd-Hall, 18, who stabbed Harry Pittman, 16, to death. A thirty year-old flip Motorola would take a better photo.