The media has been barred from attending a tribunal hearing which was reportedly part of Apple’s legal action against the Government. On Friday, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, a specialist tribunal which deals with allegations of unlawful intrusion and complaints against the security services, sat in private for an all-day hearing.

The BBC - along with civil liberties groups and some US politicians - argue the case should be heard in public.

A London court hearing, reported to be Apple's appeal against a British government order to create a "back door" to its encrypted cloud storage systems, was held in secret on Friday, with media not allowed to attend despite a formal request.