I read with interest that John Ryley, head of Sky News, wrote to justice secretary Kenneth Clarke calling for court proceedings to be televised.

While Mr Ryley is to be applauded for his concern for our justice system, to what extent the demands placed on him to fill his 24-hour news channel have assisted him to arrive at this lobbying position, I will leave to your readers to decide. 

Obiter to the issue, but worthy of mention, I am not sure a division of Rupert Murdoch’s organisation is best placed to counsel the government on matters of justice and public policy.

Central, however, to the issue is to what extent, if at all, justice is enhanced by allowing proceedings to be televised? We are told that the Ministry of Justice is considering proposals to allow ‘limited recording and transmission… in specific circumstances’. How long will it be before this morphs into fully televised trials in a society in which, I for one believe with the strongest conviction, the media already holds too much power and influence?

As an officer of the court, I urge my fellow practitioners to write to Mr Clarke to encourage him to resist this development.

Andrew J Kidd, London N5