General Accident lowered by 40p on New Year's Eve after the Stock Exchange rethink had the audacity to

General Accident, lowered by 40p on New Year's Eve after the Stock Exchange rethink, had the audacity to recover all its imposed loss - gaining 40p to 1,095p. Most, reflecting expectations of further takeover action this year, moved ahead. The fall, 10.3 points, was much less than on New Year's Eve when the index dropped 31.8 points before the Stock Exchange adjusted some share prices and a revised calculation was produced.Halifax, one of the shares revalued upwards, was one of the few financial fallers It lost 4p to 760p. A handful of buy orders, very little selling, more new year tips and futures interest provided sufficient incentive to push prices ahead. Turnover was an insignificant 130.7 million shares and the session was dubbed a "waste of time" by some market men.Footsie gave ground in the last few minutes of trading. Then, of course, it went on to hit a succession of new highs, confounding most observers. As Richard Kersley of BZW points out: "The strength of the bull run was missed by everyone. Most observers, ourselves included, began the year with a worried view of bond markets and saw equities in a similar light."The opening advance looked fragile.

At least, though, they provided some rare entertainment over a quiet Christmas.. Shares started the year on a high note with Footsie rising 58 points to 5,193.5. But the half-day session at the end of the festive fortnight seemed unreal, with few stock market men in attendance and little investment interest. Even so, Footsie's display was in sharp contrast to the opening day of last year when the index fell 61.1. It may be a bit rich for a French newspaper, as France-Soir did, to lecture the British establishment on "typical hypocrisy" for stopping publication of the identity, given France's stringent privacy laws.However, few observers here have found the last few days' events satisfactory, be it from the point of view of William, his parents, or British democracy and journalism. The White Paper on Youth Justice, published by Jack Straw last year, called for "more openness" in youth court proceedings.In any case, where a senior Government minister's son is involved in allegations which touch directly on his father's policy, common sense surely dictates that the public have a right to know of the fact, a reality that the law should allow.Otherwise the law, as it has done in the last week, descends into that other great British institution - a farce. This suggests the best course now is clarification of the law.In fact the Government has already considered this, albeit in a broader context.

Many would argue that a Cabinet minister's son should not have more protection than "ordinary" children. As Paul Cavadino, principal officer of the National Association for the Care and Rehabilitation of Offenders says, the anonymity rule is there to protect juvenile defendants "not their parents from embarrassment". He adds: "Media publicity can seriously hinder the rehabilitation of offenders." The naming of Master Straw will undoubtedly colour his reception at Oxford University, though fellow undergraduates not aware of his "background" would probably have been in the minority.Yet it is a simple fact that in cases of teenagers accused of similar offences as William Straw, and named by the media, Government law officers have not stepped in and sought protective injunctions. Although this was an honourable attempt by the Attorney General to protect a young person's identity, it both dismayed some who claim the law of contempt was not intended to cover this specific area, and gave the appearance of a Government cover-up. The same applied to the decision by police - on advice from the Crown Prosecution Service - to arrest Ms Alford.Given that early last year, under the last Government, the Home Office had said they were considering a change in the law to clear up this grey area where a juvenile is arrested but is not yet in court proceedings, some believe it may have been better had Mr Straw's department announced a review of the law and then allowed publication of the identity.Of course there are good reasons to protect juveniles facing criminal allegations.