The Manchester Evening Newswas today found guilty of contempt of court over an article about the killers of toddler James Bulger.
The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, acted against the newspaper after a report which was alleged to have breached an injunction protecting details of the whereabouts of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.
The article was published in July, on the day the two were released.
President of the Family Division at the High Court, Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, heard the case against Greater Manchester Newspapers Ltd (GMNL), publishers of the newspaper, in private last month.
Dame Elizabeth said today that in her judgment GMNL was in breach of her January 8th order that she had granted "in order to protect the lives and physical safety of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson after their release from detention pursuant to the provisions of section 53 (1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933".
The judge is now hearing lengthy submissions on what penalty should be imposed and costs.
PA