Former Radio Broadcaster Derryn Hinch says he will plead not guilty to contempt of court charges which were laid against him in Melbourne yesterday.

“I have been charged over alleged breaches of suppression orders in editorials and tweets concerning Adrian Bayley’s trial for the rape and murder of Jill Meagher,” says Hinch.

“I fervently believe I am not guilty of contempt of court and will contest the case when it comes up in the Supreme Court on July 16.”

 Hinch says the charges cover material he published online from April 5 through April 9. He was served with papers outside St Kilda Police Station yesterday.

“At a time when rapists and killers are out on parole it seems to me that the judicial system is out of whack when so much time and energy is spent on trying to make me a whipping boy for social media,” he asserts.

“I agree that Twitter and Facebook were out of control in the lead up to the Jill Meagher trial but I wasn’t one of the guilty parties. The DPP should get its priorities right.”