Shannon Matthews: Lifelong anonymity for hoax kidnap plot victim

Shannon Matthews Image copyright Other
Image caption Shannon Matthews was nine years old when she was kidnapped in West Yorkshire

Shannon Matthews and her siblings have been given lifelong anonymity under a new High Court ruling.

The injunction prevents the publication of their new names or addresses for the rest of their lives.

Shannon was the victim of a hoax kidnapping in 2008 staged by her mother Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan in a bid to claim a £50,000 reward.

The order was granted to protect Shannon and her siblings from any harm identifying them may cause.

Image copyright PA Media
Image caption Karen Matthews received an eight-year sentence for staging the kidnapping

Shannon, now 21, was nine years old when she went missing as she walked home on 19 February 2008.

She was found by police 24 days later in Donovan's flat, in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire.

During their trial at Leeds Crown Court, prosecutors said Donovan kept Shannon drugged and imprisoned in his flat as part of a plan he and Matthews hatched to claim the reward money.

The pair received eight-year prison sentences after being found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.