AN EAST Yorkshire social media user who breached an injunction banning the revelation of the new identities of James Bulger’s killers has been given a suspended jail sentence.
The nine-month terms, which were suspended for 15 months, followed action by Attorney General Dominic Grieve against Neil Harkins, from Bridlington, and Dean Liddle, from Sunderland, who put photos on Twitter and Facebook respectively in February this year, two days after the 20th anniversary of the toddler’s murder, which purported to depict Jon Venables and Robert Thompson as adults.
Sir John Thomas, President of the Queen’s Bench Division, and Mr Justice Tugendhat said Liddle and Harkins knew what they were doing was wrong and it was no excuse that others were doing it The pair admitted breaching a January 2001 injunction, binding on the whole world, imposed before Venables and Thompson were released, which prohibits the solicitation or publication of any information purporting to identify their physical appearance, whereabouts, movements or new identities.
Mr Grieve said after the ruling: “The order is meant not only to protect Venables and Thompson but also those members of the public who have been incorrectly identified as being either of them.”
Harkins said “no comment” as he left the Royal Courts of Justice.
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