A court order is in place which prevents the publishing of images or information which claim to be Jon Venables or Robert Thompson. An application is being submitted to the High Court to amend the existing injunction. In early December 2020, an application will be submitted to the High Court seeking to prohibit information that has been shared in open court claiming to identify Jon Venables or Robert Thompson (whether directly or indirectly) from being published. Providing information of their whereabouts since their release from prison in 2001 would also be prohibited.
The current injunction applies worldwide and applies equally to the internet, social media and mainstream media. The application seeks to address a gap in the injunction arising as a consequence of multiple amendments over time.
All parties as well as the Bulger family have been given 21 days' notice of the intended application. The order, and its enforcement, protects not only Venables and Thompson but also those members of the public who have been incorrectly identified as being one of the two men.
Anyone who has posted material online which is in breach of the terms of the order should remove it immediately. Breaches of the order may be a contempt of court, which is punishable by a fine and/or up to two years imprisonment.
