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Man jailed after live streaming Crown Court trial on Facebook

David Davies has been jailed for 28 days after filming the trial at Cardiff Crown Court(Picture: PA)
David Davies has been jailed for 28 days after filming the trial at Cardiff Crown Court(Picture: PA)

A man has been jailed for 28 days after he filmed and live-streamed a court case in Cardiff.

David Davies, 39, brazenly streamed footage of a witness giving evidence at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday as he sat in the public gallery.

But police soon became aware of Davies’ actions after they were tipped off by a member of the public who saw the footage after it was posted on the social media site.

He was nabbed by cops on Tuesday as he returned to court to watch the case again.

Davies, of Llantwit Fardre, near Pontypridd, has now been jailed for 28 days for contempt of court.

Pc Richard Sellek said: ‘Unfortunately cases such as this are becoming more and more commonplace. There are prominent notices within all courts about the use of mobile phones before people enter the courtroom.

The incident occurred at Cardiff Crown Court (Picture: REX Features)
The incident occurred at Cardiff Crown Court (Picture: REX Features)

‘This should serve as a warning to others who think that the law does not apply to them.’

In the UK, it has been illegal to film court proceedings since the introduction of the Criminal Justice Act in 1925.

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But last year, then Justice Minister Shailesh Vera announced plans to allow TV cameras into crown courts for the first time as part of a pilot scheme.

In 2013, Channel 4 also aired the murder retrial of Nat Fraser at Edinburgh’s High Court – which saw the businessman sentenced to 17 years behind bars for ‘instructing, instigating and organising’ the murder of his wife in 1998.