Two newspapers, the Mail on Sunday and the Guardian have repeatedly tried to name a royal servant who has made allegations about his time in a royal household. Both have been injuncted from naming him.
Today, a High Court judge decided that the Guardian's appeal against the gagging order should itself be heard behind closed doors. Our chief correspondent Alex Thomson reports.
The Guardian and Mail on Sunday want to name names and give what they say are extremely serious details to the public, so off went the lawyers to the High Court this afternoon.
The judge Michael Tugendhat said the issue "Engages the right of freedom of expression and the large attendance in court suggests public interest."
He didn't want it to be a private hearing. But defending the former Royal servant who cannot be named, Desond Browne QC said that "Rights to reputation and family life have to be balanced aginst freedom of expression."
And that was that. They reconvene tomorrow at 11, but in secret once more.
This leaving many wondering how it is that a Royal servant can afford to employ Desond Brown QCan equally pricey law firm like Kingsley Napley come to that. Is the Royal family footing the bill? The lawyers won't say...
You won't be surprised to hear that St James's Palace won't comment either. What we do know is that gagging two newspapers on the basis that a story might be libellous is extremely rare.
Basically the law nearly always takes the view that stopping publication like this is damaging freedom of speech and amounts to censorshiip.
So how come Neil McKinnon an experienced High Court judge ingored all that and gagged the Mail on Sunday? Neither he nor Richard Henriques, the judge who gagged the Guardian , have explained themselves.
No doubt they've acted impeccably, but until they clarify themselves some might suspect that the royal connection has affected the case.
The secret injunction comes after a series stories emanating from a former servant, George Smith, who says he made taped allegations of being raped by another servant. He also said he witnessed a homosexual incident between a servant and a senior member of the Royal Family.
George Smith poured his heart out on tape to Princess Diana, however that tape appears to have gone missing from her personal effects.
The claims are not new, but the names and details have never been revealed and the Royal Family is pulling out all the stops to try and keep it that way.
The only trouble is, in the age of the internet, websites are openly discussing issues we can't touch...
Against this the Royals sending secret letters to try and influence the editor of the Mail on Sunday, and their fomrer servant creating secret debates in the High Court looks increasingly futile tonight.
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