The reach of parliamentary privilege and the efficacy of High Court injunctions in the age of the internet came under the spotlight on Tuesday, after The Guardian newspaper won its battle to change a court order that prevented the media from reporting the contents of a parliamentary question.

The decision by Carter-Ruck, libel lawyers, to drop their attempt to enforce a gag followed a concerted campaign on Twitter, the social networking site, through which the contents of the question were widely disseminated. Although there was no suggestion the campaign had directly influenced Carter-Ruck, the development led media lawyers to argue that the law had not kept pace with technological innovation.