Tina Malone handed eight-month suspended sentence for breaking James Bulger killer's injunction

Tina Malone has been given an eight-month suspended sentence after she shared pictures on Twitter thought to reveal the identity of Jon Venables, who killed the toddler James Bulger in 1993.

The 56-year-old former Shameless star appeared at the High Court in London this morning accused of breaching the injunction which prevents the identities of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, who was also guilty of Bulger’s murder, being disclosed.

Malone was said to be ‘shaky and tearful’ as she appeared in court, and admitted that she knew that Venables and Thompson were given anonymity on their release from prison.

Read more: Bulger’s mother ‘relieved’ film about son’s murder didn’t win Oscar

Malone shared the pictures on her Twitter account, which has thousands of followers, at the beginning of 2018.

In a post to Facebook in January this year, she revealed that she had been given a summons to the High Court.

“I need a lawyer asap!!!! Iv been committed to the high court!!!” she wrote. “Iv had a wonderful day till i opened my front door 5mins ago!!! The high court have served me!!

“Omg anyone know any free legal lawyer for me asap!!!! Im serious!!! Becoz i retweeted something!!

“Its from a yr ago!!!!!!!! Nothing to do with the film [the Oscar-nominated Detainment] but i cant say anything else!!!!!”

Speaking to The Daily Star last year, she said: “I didn’t have a clue it was illegal.

“What are you going to do… prosecute me for posting a picture? I didn’t realise. I am not au fait with the law.”

Read more: Director of Bulger movie will not withdraw it from the Oscars

Two others narrowly avoided a jail term in January this year for posting pictures of Venables as an adult online.

Richard McKeag, 28, and Natalie Barker, 36, were given suspended sentences of 12 months and eight months respectively.

Earlier this month, the father and uncle of Bulger lost a High Court bid to have information about killer Venables made public.

Lawyers for Ralph and Jimmy Bulger had argued certain details about the killer and his life are “common knowledge” and easily accessible online.

Venables and Thompson were 10 when they led two-year-old Jamie Bulger away from his mother at a shopping centre in Bootle, and later murdered him.

They were released from prison on parole in 2001, and given new identities.

Venables was sent to prison again in 2010 for breaching the terms of his parole, and released in 2013.

He was sent to prison a third time for three years in 2017 after he was found in possession of images extreme child abuse on his computer.