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Twitter users who posted pictures of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson to be pursued by Attorney General

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By Ishbel Macleod | PR and social media consultant

February 25, 2013 | 2 min read

The Attorney General has today announced that it will instigate contempt proceedings against those who posted images purporting to be of Jamie Bulger's killers, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, on social media.

In a statement, the Attorney General’s office said: “There is an injunction in place which prevents publication of any images or information purporting to identify anyone as Jon Venables or Robert Thompson. The terms of the order mean that if a picture claims to be of Venables or Thompson, even if it is not actually them, there will be a breach of the order.

“Providing details of the new identities of Venables and Thompson or their whereabouts is also prohibited – this order applies to material which is on the internet.

“There are many different images circulating online claiming to be of Venables or Thompson; potentially innocent individuals may be wrongly identified as being one of the two men and placed in danger. The order, and its enforcement, is therefore intended to protect not only Venables and Thompson but also those members of the public who have been incorrectly identified as being one of the two men.

“The injunction applies to both media organisations and individuals. Anyone who has posted material online which is in breach of the terms of the order should remove this material immediately. Breaches of the order may be a contempt of court punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment.”

It has been revealed that court orders are set to be served shortly, although at the moment, it is just known that the office will contact a ‘small number of individuals’.

This follows last week's announcement that Lord McAlpine will not sue those who libelled him on Twitter.

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