A journalist is challenging lifetime anonymity orders granted to three convicted criminals in Northern Ireland, arguing they are being used too often and to avoid public scrutiny. Tanya Fowles has written to the Lady Chief Justice, asking for two of the orders and one other anonymity order to be rescinded. The challenge comes after an injunction attempt by comedian and children’s author David Walliams failed, allowing serious allegations about him to be published. Two of the lifetime anonymity orders Fowles is contesting involve convicted sex offenders who claimed that having their names published could lead them to self-harm. Fowles points to the decision in Walliams’ case, where the High Court had to balance rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. His lawyers relied on Articles 2 and 3, covering the right to life and the prohibition of torture, while the court also weighed the media’s freedom of expression under Article 10. In that case, the judge said the state was not obliged to guarantee that suicide would not occur or to eliminate every residual risk. Fowles says lifetime anonymity orders were historically reserved for exceptional circumstances, such as a high risk of harm from another person. She argues there has been a rise in people seeking anonymity on mental health grounds, particularly in Northern Ireland, and says judges are “erring on the side of caution”. She also argues that, in some cases, no prior action had been taken by mental health professionals to protect the individuals before they sought lifetime anonymity. In her view, threatening suicide to avoid publicity amounts to “blackmail” of the courts and the press. The latest step reported is Fowles’ request to the Lady Chief Justice to revoke the orders.