Suella Braverman to consider giving anonymity to suspected criminals

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The home secretary will examine the possibility of giving anonymity to suspected criminals after concern over the identification and treatment of high-profile people wrongly accused of sexual abuse.

Suella Braverman made the pledge after criticising the “media circus” surrounding accusations against the singer Cliff Richard and the former MP Harvey Proctor, which both said had ruined their lives.

Braverman told a Young Conservatives audience at the party conference in Birmingham that “trial by media will only undermine our justice system”.

Asked about the treatment of Richard and Proctor, both of whom were cleared of any wrongdoing after facing high-profile claims, she said: “We have had some high-profile instances where the media circus around a suspect who has not been charged has been devastating. I think coverage of people prior to charge can be very, very damaging, particularly if the charges are not pursued or if they are dropped later on.”

Richard was investigated by South Yorkshire police for allegedly assaulting a 15-year-old boy during a religious rally at Sheffield United football club in 1985. He denied these allegations, was never charged and the case was dropped in 2016. The force settled with the singer for ?400,000. The BBC broke news of the raid on Richard’s home in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on the lunchtime television news in 2014 with film from a helicopter.

A judge ruled in 2018 that Richard’s right to privacy outweighed the BBC’s right to free expression and he was awarded initial damages of ?210,000.

Proctor lost his job and home after being arrested as part of Operation Midland, which examined claims of a paedophile ring in Westminster. It later emerged that the source for the claims, Carl Beech, known by the pseudonym Nick, was a fantasist whose lies were believed by senior Met police officers.

In her first appearance at a fringe event during the 2022 conference, Braverman also said she wanted to limit the number of foreign students using “low quality” courses as a back door into the UK – a practice she has previously claimed has allowed them to bring along their dependents.

She said the government would “need to look at some of the courses people are doing” as they are “not always very good quality”.