In London, the High Court has been told that child killer Mary Bell and her teenage daughter should be granted life-long anonymity because of 'unique' features in their case.
Edward Fitzgerald, QC, counsel for 46-year-old, told the court today that there was a real likelihood that disclosure of her new identity would lead to harassment.
Mary Bell was convicted of the manslaughter of two toddlers in Newcastle in 1968. She was 11 at the time.
Previous injunctions had banned publication of the identities of both women, until Mary Bell's daughter turned 18.
Mr Fitzgerald told Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, President of the Family Division, that the features which justified a unique approach in the case were the extreme youth of Mary Bell at the time of the offences and the fact that she had had a new identity since her release with the full consent of the Home Office.
But Andrew Caldecott QC, for Britain's Attorney General, emphasised that there were 'very delicate issues' about the balance between the right to privacy and family life and the importance of open justice.
A decision in the case will not be given until after Easter.
