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| Two guilty over abusive tweets to Caroline Criado-Perez | Two guilty over abusive tweets to Caroline Criado-Perez |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Two people have pleaded guilty to sending "menacing" tweets to feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez. | Two people have pleaded guilty to sending "menacing" tweets to feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez. |
| Isabella Sorley, 23, of Newcastle, and John Nimmo, 25, of South Shields, admitted at Westminster Magistrates' Court sending the messages over a public communications network. | Isabella Sorley, 23, of Newcastle, and John Nimmo, 25, of South Shields, admitted at Westminster Magistrates' Court sending the messages over a public communications network. |
| They will be sentenced on 24 January. | They will be sentenced on 24 January. |
| Journalist Ms Criado-Perez, 29, from Rutland, received abuse after her campaign for author Jane Austen to appear on the new £10 note succeeded. | Journalist Ms Criado-Perez, 29, from Rutland, received abuse after her campaign for author Jane Austen to appear on the new £10 note succeeded. |
| Alison Morgan, prosecuting, said Ms Criado-Perez had received abusive messages "of one type or another" from 86 Twitter accounts including those accounts attributed to both Nimmo and Sorley. | |
| "Caroline Criado-Perez has suffered life-changing psychological effects from the abuse which she received on Twitter," she told the court. | |
| "In particular, the menacing nature of the tweets sent by both defendants caused her significant fear that they would find her and carry out their threats." | |
| Bank notes | |
| Ms Criado-Perez's campaign began after the Bank of England announced in April last year that social reformer Elizabeth Fry would be dropped from new £5 notes in favour of Winston Churchill, leaving no female presence on bank notes. | |
| Sorley and Nimmo sent the tweets in July after the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said Jane Austen would replace Charles Darwin on the £10 note. | Sorley and Nimmo sent the tweets in July after the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said Jane Austen would replace Charles Darwin on the £10 note. |
| At the time, Ms Criado-Perez hailed the announcement as a "brilliant day for women". | At the time, Ms Criado-Perez hailed the announcement as a "brilliant day for women". |
| Sorley and Nimmo pleaded guilty to sending by means of a public electronic communications network messages which were menacing in character, contrary to Section 127(1) (A) of the Communications Act 2003. | Sorley and Nimmo pleaded guilty to sending by means of a public electronic communications network messages which were menacing in character, contrary to Section 127(1) (A) of the Communications Act 2003. |
| Sorley was remanded in custody and Nimmo was bailed, both until 24 January. | Sorley was remanded in custody and Nimmo was bailed, both until 24 January. |
| The Crown Prosecution Service had said earlier that the prosecution of a separate suspect who allegedly sent offensive messages to Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, over the same issue was not in the public interest. | The Crown Prosecution Service had said earlier that the prosecution of a separate suspect who allegedly sent offensive messages to Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, over the same issue was not in the public interest. |
| Ms Morgan told the court that Ms Creasy had also suffered a "substantial impact" as a result of "these events". | |
| Investigative reporter | |
| The Metropolitan Police said Nimmo and Sorley were both arrested after an investigation by its cyber crime unit, following complaints from two women who were targeted on social networking sites. | |
| The initial report was made to police on 25 July 2013. | |
| Nimmo was arrested on 30 July at home after an investigative reporter contacted Northumbria Police and handed over material outlining findings that identified him as one of the people abusing the women online. | |
| It was established he sent 20 tweets to one of the women and four tweets to the other, using six separate Twitter accounts. | |
| Sorley was arrested on 22 October at home after officers identified her as responsible for setting up three anonymous Twitter accounts and sending six tweets to one of the women, all sent on 30 July. | |
| Scotland Yard said the evidence demonstrated Nimmo "acted to cover his identity, anonymously sending messages that were deliberately designed to cause fear and apprehension". | |
| It added that Sorley's actions were "deliberate, planned and deliberately worded to create fear and a credible menace". | |
| Police said a 32-year-old man arrested in Bristol and a 27-year-old man arrested in York remained on bail as part of their investigation. |