Carmichael hearing to be broadcast live

Next week’s court hearing to decide whether or not Alistair Carmichael should remain as Northern Isles MP will be broadcast live.
STV has been given permission to televise the full hearing live and in full – making television history.

Cameras will be operating inside Court 1 at the Court of Session in Edinburgh to report on proceedings brought about by the legal challenge to the election of Mr Carmichael as MP for Orkney and Shetland.

Constituents in the isles will be able to watch proceedings online with STV streaming it live on its website. The hearing will also be broadcast on the STV Glasgow and STV Edinburgh channels.

The hearing begins at 10.30am on Monday before judges Lady Paton and Lord Matthews in the Election Court, which will sit for the first time in Scotland since 1965.

STV’s head of news Gordon Macmillan said: “STV News is delighted to have the opportunity to provide this ground-breaking broadcast. We were the first broadcasters to film sentencing in a criminal trial in 2012.

“This is a significant advance in the televising of the Scottish courts and it will provide an important live insight – most especially for Mr Carmichael’s constituents – into the legal process in this case.”

The move has been made possible following “constructive discussions with all parties involved”, according to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

It said “guidelines” had been put in place that would allow the hearing to be watched anywhere in the UK.
Over the next week, a technical team will install special remotely-controlled cameras in Court 1 in Parliament Square.

The broadcaster will also provide television pictures from the Election Court to other broadcasters and media organisations. The Court has also agreed that journalists will be allowed to use Twitter to tweet live.

• www.shetlandtimes.co.uk will carry live updates from the hearing.