An attempt to prevent the press from repeating British concerns about US military tactics in Iraq, including the killing of civilians in Falluja and President Bush's alleged suggestion that the offices of the Arabic satellite TV station al-Jazeera should be bombed, was quashed by the appeal court yesterday.

The issue arose during the trial of David Keogh, a Whitehall communications officer, and Leo O'Connor, a former researcher to a Labour MP, jailed under the Official Secrets Act in May for disclosing the contents of minutes of a White House meeting between George Bush and Tony Blair on April 16 2004.

The contents of the minutes were discussed in camera - in front of the Old Bailey jury but with the press and public barred. Speculation had been published about the document's contents, including claims that Mr Bush wanted to bomb al-Jazeera.

The trial judge, Mr Justice Aikens, imposed a sweeping injunction preventing the media from repeating speculation, already published, about the contents of the documents.

Yesterday, in a case brought by the Guardian and other newspapers and broadcasters, Lord Phillips, the lord chief justice, and two appeal court judges ruled the allegations could be repeated by the media.

However, they also ruled that suggestions that those allegations accurately represented evidence given in secret during the trial risked being in contempt of court. The judges also said the media could not publish a particular phrase uttered in open court by Keogh when he was asked about the document. The media can, however, say Keogh was said to have described the contents as "abhorrent" and "illegal", and that he believed the memo exposed Mr Bush as a "madman".

The court heard that April 2004 was a particularly delicate period in Iraq. It is known, and was widely reported, that British officials and military commanders were expressing concern about US tactics. The British were concerned in particular about the US assault on Falluja, including the use of white phosphorus.