Eleanor Williams case raised in call for social media rules

Police found the injuries Eleanor Williams posted photos of on Facebook had been self-inflicted

The trial of a woman who lied about being the victim of an Asian grooming gang was put at risk by social media, an MP has claimed.

Barrow-in-Furness MP Simon Fell urged ministers to make it subject to the same conditions as traditional media.

He said allegations posted by Eleanor Williams on Facebook "went viral".

That had made it difficult for police to gather evidence and "risked the viability of a trial going ahead", he said.

Williams, of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for perverting the course of justice after falsely claiming to have been raped, trafficked and beaten.

One Facebook post in which she made allegations was shared more than 100,000 times.

'False communications'

Conservative MP Mr Fell raised her case at a session of questions to justice ministers in the Commons.

He said: "The post went global and it went viral. The environment made it increasingly difficult for the police to do their job gathering evidence and even risked the viability of a trial going ahead.

"Traditional media carries reporting restrictions for cases like this," he said.

"I wonder whether the minister might agree to meet with me to discuss whether we can look at applying the same conditions on social media channels."

Simon Fell told the Commons the offending Facebook post "went global"

Justice minister Mike Freer said contempt of court and reporting restrictions already applied to content published on social media but the government was "continually looking" at how the law could be strengthened.

"We've asked the Law Commission to consider this issue as part of a wider ranging review of the law of contempt of court," he said.

"Two new offences in the Online Safety Bill will criminalise the type of behaviour we have seen in the Eleanor Williams case.

"A false communications offence will criminalise communications where the person sends information they know to be false with the intention of causing harm."

Mr Freer told MPs arrangements with social media companies were in place to ensure relevant material is highlighted and removed but the government was working to improve the enforcement of anonymity laws.