Tina Malone: Shameless star avoids jail after revealing James Bulger killer Jon Venables’ new identity

Malone shared a post on Facebook which purportedly included an image of Venables and his new name

Actress Tina Malone leaves the High Court in London where she avoided jail (PA)

Shameless star Tina Malone has avoided going to jail after she admitted to breaching an injunction that protected the identity of James Bulger killer Jon Venables by sharing a post on social media.

Malone shared a post on Facebook in February last year which purportedly included an image and Venables’ new name, the High Court was told.

The court heard Malone was suffering with mental health problems when she shared the post and that she is the main carer for her five-year-old daughter and elderly mother.

Her barrister, Adam Speker, told the court that, on reflection after giving evidence, the 56-year-old accepted that she was in breach of the injunction.

He said she understood that Venables had been given anonymity for his protection.

The actress told the court she was not aware that she was doing anything wrong when she shared the post.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett concluded: “Although the custody threshold is undoubtedly passed in this case, the personal circumstances and mitigation of this defendant are such that we should impose a suspended committal order.

“Taking account of everything that we have heard, we order that the defendant be committed to prison for eight months, but we suspend that order for two years.”

The eight-month suspended sentence means if she is found in contempt of court within two years, she will be jailed.

A court order was made “against the world” in 2001 which bans the publication of anything that purports to reveal the identities of Venables and Robert Thompson.

They have been living anonymously with new identities since being released from a life sentence for the kidnap, torture and murder of James in 1993, when they were both aged 10.

Additional reporting by agencies