A news blackout requested by Strathclyde Police over the reporting of letter bombs to, among others, the manager of Celtic football club lasted as long as could be expected – according to the police's director of communications.
Says Strathclyde Police's Rob Shorthouse, a series of phones calls were held on Saturday with various media outlets, all of which had got wind that Lennon – along with lawyer, Paul McBride QC, and former MSP, Trish Godman – had been the target of devices that were capable of maiming, if not killing.
Last month, it was reported that two parcels containing bullets had been sent to Lennon.
Shorthouse told allmediascotland: “On Saturday, the media agreed to a news blackout when we explained we required time to continue our investigations.”
A similar conversation – this time in a face-to-face meeting involving some of the country's most senior journalists – then took place on Monday morning.
He continued: “At that meeting, we asked if the blackout could be extended to today; that it lasted until last night is something we are still grateful for. In my view, there was broad agreement at the meeting that the blackout should be reviewed today, but since it was a story lots of people in the media knew about, with every passing hour it was becoming more and more difficult for it to be kept under wraps. I am grateful the news blackout was adhered to for as long as it was. The extra time allowed important investigations to proceed.”
Reports The Drum media website, the media outlets represented at the Monday meeting “held a conference call [yesterday] when it was decided that they were unable to hold off on the story any longer and that the agreed embargo was likely to fall.”
