Solicitor General: Integrity of jury must be preserved

A juror who contacted a defendant via Facebook, causing a trial to collapse, has been given an eight month jail sentence for contempt of court.

Joanne Fraill admitted at the High Court that she wrote to Jamie Sewart, who had already been cleared in a drugs trial.

Sewart was given a two-month sentence suspended for two years after she was found guilty of contempt.

Speaking outside the High Court, Solicitor General Edward Garnier said it was important that "the integrity of the jury system was maintained and preserved".