Ministers, newspaper editors and celebrities will turn their attentions to the Royal Courts of Justice later this week for a landmark development on injunctions.

On Friday Lord Neuberger (pictured), master of the rolls, will issue a report on the use of injunctions by a committee of legal experts.

The statement is set to have far-reaching consequences for newspaper editors who want fewer reporting restrictions, and famous faces looking to protect their privacy.

There has been speculation that Lord Neuberger will not call for fresh legislation, but that may not stop the government from issuing new rules around injunctions.

In a Commons debate on Tuesday, justice secretary Ken Clarke said he did not know the number of injunctions that had been taken out, but admitted there may be a ‘case for intervening’ after the MR has assessed the process.

Clarke said: ‘We will consider these matters, and it is probably right that parliament passing a privacy act might well be the best way of resolving the issue, but we need to get somewhat nearer a consensus and to know exactly how to strike the balance before something is submitted for the judgement of parliament.’

But for those expecting a flood of celebrity exposes, Clarke warned he would not support lifting every injunction.

‘There have been cases where we certainly needed to know – such as where people are disposing of waste material by dumping it off the coast of Africa.

‘That is easy in one direction, but in the other, every time I watch a football team I do not think I necessarily need to know about the sex life of each of the players.’