Council spent thousands trying to keep name of Tate teenager's name a secret

Ellen Manning
Updated ·2 min read
Undated handout file photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of Jonty Bravery, 18. Council bosses spent thousands of pounds on legal fees in a failed bid to keep Tate Modern murder attempt teenager Jonty Bravery’s name out of the public domain, the PA news agency has found.
Jonty Bravery, 18, was jailed for life for the attempted murder of a French boy he threw from a viewing platform at the Tate Modern. (PA)

Council bosses spent thousands of pounds on legal fees in an attempt to keep the name of a teenager who threw a six-year-old boy from a 10th-floor viewing platform at the Tate Modern a secret.

Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council paid £12,400 over the course of four court hearings as they fought with the press over naming Jonty Bravery, the PA news agency revealed.

Bravery, now 18, was jailed for life on Friday after previously admitting attempted murder of the child.

The teen, who was 17 when he committed the crime August last year, was granted anonymity by the court because of his age, but the order expired on his 18th birthday – despite repeated efforts by the council to keep his identity out of the public domain for longer.

General public walking over the Millennium bridge by the Tate Modern the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on people to stay away from pubs, clubs and theatres, work from home if possible and avoid all non-essential contacts and travel in order to reduce the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Documents have revealed that Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council paid £12,400 to try to keep Bravery's name out of the public domain. (PA)

Council documents released under Freedom of Information laws show the total cost for legal advice and representation at four Old Bailey court hearings covering anonymity between August 8 and October 1 2019 was £12,400.

Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council said the same barrister was not available for each occasion.

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Bravery, who has autism and a personality disorder, was a “looked after child” under the care of the council at the time he struck – telling onlookers social services that were to blame for his actions.

The authority has since ordered a serious case review into the incident, which is due to be published in the autumn.

File photo dated 26/06/20 of court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Jonty Bravery, 18, (right), appearing in court at the Old Bailey via videolink from Broadmoor Hospital for his sentence hearing. Council bosses spent thousands of pounds on legal fees in a failed bid to keep Tate Modern murder attempt teenager Jonty BraveryÕs name out of the public domain, the PA news agency has found.
Bravery was just under two months shy of his 18th birthday when committed the crime in August last year. (PA)

In a statement a council spokesman said: “Our sympathies go out to the child and his family following what happened at Tate Modern.

“An independent serious case review is now under way. It will look at what happened and the role played by all the different agencies involved.”

The six-year-old French tourist, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered a bleed to the brain, fractures to his spine, and broken legs and arms in the fall and is now recovering.