Amber Heard allowed to attend court hearing in Johnny Depp's case against UK newspaper

Amber Heard has been allowed to attend the hearing in Johnny Depp's case against a UK  newspaper which had accused Depp of domestic abuse. 

Johnny Depp's lawyers failed to convince the court to stop his former wife from appearing before the judge.

According to reports, Depp's lawyers approached the court on Friday with a plea that Heard be excluded from the trial until she gave evidence.

They argued that her evidence would be more reliable if she was not present in court when Depp was being cross-examined.

Judge Justice Nicol dismissed their application, saying excluding the actress from the hearing would inhibit the defendants in the conduct of their defense.

He added: "She (Ms. Heard) will not be in a position to give instructions to (NGN’s lawyers), but she can provide information on which the defendants may choose to act."

The trial is due to start on Tuesday after a last-ditch attempt to throw the case out of court by NGN’s legal team was refused earlier this week.