Ryan Giggs named as love cheat
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Manchester United ace Ryan Giggs was named on Monday as the soccer star identified on Twitter at the centre of the injunction row.
The Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming used parliamentary privilege to name Giggs as the Premier League player who had taken out an injunction over his relationship with reality TV star Imogen Thomas.
The Birmingham Yardley MP said in a statement: "When he sued Twitter, it was clear what he was doing. He was going after the ordinary people who have been gossiping about him on Twitter.
"To prosecute someone for contempt of court is quite a serious step. It comes with an up to two-year jail sentence."
Giggs' legal team indicated last week they would be launching legal proceedings against Twitter and "persons unknown" after the affair was widely discussed on the social network site.
Mr Hemming added: "Before he sued Twitter, there was no public interest in naming him.
"However, when his lawyers decided to go on a 'search and destroy' against the ordinary people who gossip on Twitter, he had taken a step that should not be done anonymously."
The 37-year-old Welshman obtained an injunction preventing The Sun newspaper from revealing his identity last month but the first mainstream publication in the UK to name him was The Sunday Herald at the weekend.
The Herald had printed a picture of the Giggs' face with his eyes blacked out and the word "censored" written over the top.
Beneath the picture they wrote: "Everyone knows this is the footballer accused of using the courts to keep allegations of a sexual affair secret."
Giggs, who yesterday had been mentioned an astonishing 75,000 times on Twitter, was not present for an open training session ahead of United's Champions League final on Saturday against Barcelona at Wembley.
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| The Sunday Herald newspaper printed a barely disguised picture of Ryan Giggs on its front cover Photo: PA |
The Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming used parliamentary privilege to name Giggs as the Premier League player who had taken out an injunction over his relationship with reality TV star Imogen Thomas.
Mr Hemming decided to name married dad-of-two Giggs because his lawyers were targeting ordinary people simply for gossiping about him.
The Birmingham Yardley MP said in a statement: "When he sued Twitter, it was clear what he was doing. He was going after the ordinary people who have been gossiping about him on Twitter.
"To prosecute someone for contempt of court is quite a serious step. It comes with an up to two-year jail sentence."
Giggs' legal team indicated last week they would be launching legal proceedings against Twitter and "persons unknown" after the affair was widely discussed on the social network site.
Mr Hemming added: "Before he sued Twitter, there was no public interest in naming him.
"However, when his lawyers decided to go on a 'search and destroy' against the ordinary people who gossip on Twitter, he had taken a step that should not be done anonymously."
The 37-year-old Welshman obtained an injunction preventing The Sun newspaper from revealing his identity last month but the first mainstream publication in the UK to name him was The Sunday Herald at the weekend.
The Herald had printed a picture of the Giggs' face with his eyes blacked out and the word "censored" written over the top.
Beneath the picture they wrote: "Everyone knows this is the footballer accused of using the courts to keep allegations of a sexual affair secret."
Giggs, who yesterday had been mentioned an astonishing 75,000 times on Twitter, was not present for an open training session ahead of United's Champions League final on Saturday against Barcelona at Wembley.
Related links:
Personal
Also see:
