One of Britain's top prosecutors has denied actor Michael Le Vell was subjected to a celebrity "witch-hunt", as the debate about whether to give anonymity to those accused of sex crimes continues to rage.
Nazir Afzal, the Crown Prosecution Service lead on child sexual exploitation, insisted "nobody should be above the law" and said he would not shy away from high profile cases.
It comes after Le Vell, who plays Kevin Webster in the ITV soap Coronation Street, was cleared of all 12 charges against him by a jury at Manchester Crown Court.
"I absolutely detest this word witch-hunt. It is not a witch-hunt," Mr Afzal said.
"We look at the evidence. We follow the evidence. We present the evidence."
He said it "does not matter" if, when looking at the evidence, "it takes us to someone who might have drawn attention to themselves publicly in some way, shape or form".
Mr Afzal says evidence against celebrities will continue to be investigated Defence lawyer Nick Freeman told Sky News that Le Vell's acquittal "urgently highlights" the need for anonymity for those accused of sexual offences until they are convicted.
"These heinous allegations carry a terrible social stigma and a revulsion that transcends most other criminal offences," he said.
"These don't die with an acquittal - they say with a person for the rest of their life."
However, Mark Williams-Thomas, a child protection expert, argued that under the current system victims feel "more confident" in coming forward and speaking to the police.
"We need to look at the detrimental effect not naming individuals could have," he said.
"We know that as a result of the (Jimmy) Savile investigations, people came forward and made allegations.
Ex-broadcaster Hall is serving a 30-month jail sentence for sexual assault "Stuart Hall was then prosecuted, having initially vehemently denied the allegations ... and is now in jail."
Le Vell's legal team argued it was a "strange case of child rape" without any DNA evidence or injuries to the alleged victim, who claimed she had been raped and abused when she was younger.
Jurors were told to decide whether the girl was telling the truth or had set out to "quite literally destroy" the actor's life.
Sky News Correspondent Nick Martin, outside the Manchester studios of ITV, which is in talks with Le Vell about a return to Coronation Street, said the debate about anonymity had divided opinion.
"In the past, it's been very difficult for people who have been acquitted to move on," he said.
"Many people think the slur and the stigma can go on to ruin people's lives.
"On the other side of the argument ... other victims see that person going through the court. It's claimed they are then encouraged to come forward and that their evidence can bolster cases."
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