Ban on naming judge who handed Sara Sharif over to killer father will have a ‘corrosive impact’ on public confidence in the justice system, court hears

An unprecedented ban on naming the judge in the Sara Sharif case is a threat to open justice which will corrode public confidence in the system, a court heard yesterday.

Last month a High Court judge sparked outrage after ordering that none of the professionals involved in the case of the 10-year-old murdered by her father and stepmother can be named because the media cannot be ‘trusted to report fairly’.

It is the first time in British legal history that a judge has been granted anonymity.

Yesterday the Court of Appeal was told the ban must be overturned because judges are the ‘face of justice itself’, they make ‘life-and-death decisions’ and keeping their names secret will have a ‘corrosive impact’ on public confidence in the judicial system.

Following the murder conviction of Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 42, and stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, Mr Justice Williams banned the naming of professionals in the case including social workers, guardians and the family court…