The daughters who were raped by their father, and their surviving children, are protected in law from being identified because of the anonymity granted to victims of sexual offences.

The children’s anonymity is also guaranteed by the fundamental principle prohibiting identification of a juvenile in court proceedings, except in rare circumstances when it is considered in the public interest for them to be named. The restrictions on the media apply to naming schools or addresses or showing photographs and are in place up to the age of 18 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 16 years in criminal courts in Scotland.

The ruling means others also benefit from anonymity. Parents or relatives cannot be identified where the connection with a child is obvious.

The danger of so-called “jigsaw” identification also means that the media have to guard against giving some details but not others. If one publication mentions just a person’s profession and another refers only to where he lives the two reports together can lead to identification. So the solution is sometimes to leave out all identifying details.

In the murder trial in 1993 of the toddler James Bulger, the two boys convicted — Robert Thompson and Jon Venables — were identified. In 2001 the two won a life-long anonymity order when they were released.

Explore Law

• Columnists

• Law Panel

• Law Reports

• Student Law

Times Recommends

• The best legal yarns this Christmas
• Legal school 'earned £1m by exploiting bar course'
• Axe may fall on 5,000 more City lawyers