Scotland Yard Asks ABC Not To Show Unexploded Bomb Images, But “We Decided It Was Newsworthy,” EP Jon Banner Says

From today’s New York Times: “The British police asked ABC News on Tuesday to withhold a report showing images of what were said to be unexploded bombs found in a car used by the July 7 bombers and of the inside of a subway train mangled in the attacks, a network official said yesterday.”

London’s Metropolitan Police sent an e-mail message yesterday that asked news organizations “in the strongest possible terms” not to replay the images “because they may prejudice both the ongoing investigation and any future prosecutions.”

But World News Tonight went ahead with the report. “Scotland Yard learned that ABC News was going to broadcast the story and asked it to hold back,” but EP Jon Banner says: “We checked with other police sources here and in London, checked with our own security consultants,” before making a decision to go forward — “We thought it was newsworthy.”