Gagging something in the public domain?

Well what can I say, the sun is out in Spain, it was 35 degrees by the pool at 11am yesterday... scorchio! I've decided though to take a little moment this morning to post and say "I'm Sparticus" on this whole Guardian/Carter-Ruck thing.

It appears that some company I've never heard of has managed to get Carter-Ruck to gag the Guardian from reporting what is going on in Parliament where a question has been tabled about said company and Carter-Ruck. According to the Guardian it is

prevented from identifying the MP who has asked the question, what the question is, which minister might answer it, or where the question is to be found.

Here's the really odd bit though, the question they're referring to is a matter of public record already in the public domain and published on the Parliamentary website for all to see, and now that the Guardian has published the existence of the gag anyone inetrested can find it anyway.

Add to that the fact that Guido, Iain Dale, ToryBear, Tory Politico, Next Left amongst many others and it kind of makes the whole gagging order utterly meaningless anyway because these sites have ensured a wider audience to the story along with the question. What a strange state of affairs it is that a lawyer and corporation can stop the reporting of the going ons in Parliament, which are privileged, but can't actually stop Parliament talking about it though.

I very much look forward to seeing what the answer to the question is, I bet it is a bland non-answer though. In the meantime this sort of thing will no doubt please some Tory PPCs who were heard to be saying at a Fringe meeting atthe Tory Conference that they thought we in the UK could learn alot from China's Internet policy - mental huh?

Now I really must get back to the pool. The sun is coming up over the mountains and the temperature is rising.

Update: I see the story is starting to go global having reached an American San Francisco based blog. I would be surprised if it isn't on Slashdot very soon and then Reddit etc.

Update II: Carter-Ruck has apparently caved in. Tory Bear has this graphic.....

[grammar nazi]
To which I say... "It's "pwn3d" Not "Owned"*
[/gammar nazi]
* Now watch some other pedant point out a different way to do it!