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A Ј6m murder trial has been halted at the Old Bailey following a Law Lords ruling on witnesses giving evidence anonymously.
Judge David Paget said the trial - of two men accused of murder - had been "derailed" by the ruling.
He told the jury: "You have heard evidence from a number of witnesses that you should not have heard."
Law Lords ruled that defendants had a right to know the identity of those testifying against them.
The case, the first affected by last week's ruling, will be retried in 2009.
Change the law
Four witnesses had given evidence under false names and from behind screens during the two-month trial of the two men accused of killing Charles Butler in 2004.
The Law Lords ruled that defendants in criminal trials had a legal right to know the identity of witnesses testifying against them.
But Justice Secretary Jack Straw said there was a real need for some witnesses to have their identities protected.
He vowed to change the law "as quickly as possible" to allow the right to anonymity to be restored.
'Grave concern'
A number of other cases in progress around the country could be affected by the ruling.
Several recent, high-profile trials have also used anonymous witness testimony, including those following the murders of schoolboy Michael Dosunmu and care worker Magda Pniewska.
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates said the ruling was a cause for "grave concern".
The Met's specialist Trident squad has encouraged witnesses to come forward to help prosecute gun crime on the assurance that they could remain completely anonymous.
(BBC)
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