THE trial of a woman accused of illegally aborting her baby collapsed due to “appalling and sloppy” reporting by the BBC, a judge said today.

Prosecutors alleged that Sophie Harvey, who was 19 at the time, took medication to illegally abort the child when she was 28 weeks pregnant.

While Ms Harvey and her boyfriend Elliot Benham accepted that they had purchased abortion pills, the defendant maintains that she did not take them and gave birth to a stillborn child.

The couple stood trial this year, but the jury was discharged after their lawyers cited inaccurate reporting of the proceedings. 

Ms Harvey says that she disposed of the baby in the bin, but during a hearing held in the absence of the jury, the court heard that a report by BBC Points West had shown archive footage of a property with a tent and crime officers and had stated: “The remains were found in the garden.”

Later, in a report of the trial’s proceedings, a journalist said that Ms Harvey had taken the pill.

Agreeing to dismiss the jury, judge Ian Lawrie KC said: “The BBC reporting was not just an error, it was misleading and false, and therefore the defendants’ credibility is at issue.”

A new trial was due in February 2025, but Ms Harvey and Mr Benham pleaded guilty last week to a new offence of conspiracy to procure a poison with intent to procure a miscarriage.

The judge gave the pair 18-month community orders.

Mr Beham was told to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and Ms Harvey received a mental health treatment order.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “The BBC apologised to the court for the unintentional errors in some of our reporting of the trial in May 2024.

“Our apology was accepted by the judge hearing the case.”