THIS newspaper has over long years heard many a specious sob story from defendants' lawyers, but the whinge at Burnley Crown Court by barrister Mark Stuart is among the most asinine.

Mr Stuart complained that his client, John Wilkinson, who ran off with almost £3,000 from the pub where he was assistant manager, lost the job he got at Sainsbury's after we reported the case with a "prominent headline" on what must have been a "slow news or no news day."

He was promptly slapped down by Judge Raymond Bennett who defended the right of newspapers to report court proceedings.

And, we would ask, would Mr Stuart suggest that a superior sort of justice would be done in private?

And, in any case, is not his wrong-doing client's situation his own fault?

Mr Stuart falls, it seems, for the sentimental tendency to treat criminals as the victims.

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