Mr Hemming added: "Is it really good to have a society in which rich people use their money to persecute people of relatively ordinary means, and nobody is willing to say anything about it?

"I think that would be very wrong, it would be very sad."

He said he accepted the need to respect court orders "under normal circumstances" but added: "There comes a point at which it has gone too far and we are at that point."

Earlier, asked whether the Prime Minister thought Mr Hemming was wrong to use parliamentary privilege to name the footballer at the centre of the row, David Cameron's official spokesman said: "I don't think it is for the Government to comment on individual cases."

The spokesman told reporters that Mr Cameron had written to the chairman of the Commons Justice Committee, Sir Alan Beith, and the chairman of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, John Whittingdale, asking them to convene a joint committee of both houses to consider the issues of privacy and the use of injunctions.

Minutes before Mr Hemming's comments in the Commons, the High Court refused to lift the ban on journalists naming the footballer after lawyers for The Sun asked for the controversial privacy ruling to be lifted after a Scottish newspaper named the star at the weekend.

Mr Grieve confirmed he was aware of the report, but said he has not received any complaints or referrals from any parties or by any court. There was no immediate comment from Manchester United.