THE Daily Mirror and The Sun were in contempt of court with their coverage of the arrest of a suspect in the killing of Joanna Yeates, the High Court heard yesterday.

Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC said three reports would have posed a "substantial risk" of influencing jurors at any trial the 25 year old's landlord, Christopher Jefferies, might have faced.

He said they gave an "overall impression" that Mr Jefferies had a "propensity" to commit the kind of offences for which he had been arrested. He called for the newspapers to be penalised. Both deny contempt.

The newspapers said jurors would not have been prejudiced by the coverage.

Judgment was reserved after the London hearing.

Joanna's neighbour Vincent Tabak, 33, has admitted manslaughter and will be tried for murder in October. The architect disappeared near her home in Clifton, Bristol, on December 17.