Only two arrests were made in the aftermath of the Manchester bombing outrage of 1996 – and one of those was Manchester Evening News journalist Steve Panter.

The other was the senior police officer who was cleared by a jury this week of leaking information about the investigation into the IRA bombing.

Panter, now deputy news editor, was asked in court to reveal his sources but refused. The full story can be seen here.

The newspaper named a suspect the police felt they did not have enough evidence to pursue.

But editor Paul Horrocks fears the matter is not at an end.

He said: “Steve Panter, who was not charged with any offence, now faces the possibility of proceedings against him for contempt of court for refusing to disclose the source of a story the accuracy of which has never been denied.

“We maintain that we were right to publish the story and name the prime suspect.”

The story had been the subject of lengthy prior discussions between senior Greater Manchester Police officers, including the chief constable, and Mr Horrocks.

He said: “We waited two months and at the request of the police, deleted several details that might have hindered their operations.

“The police knew what we were about to publish but at no time did they seek to take out an injunction to prevent us from doing so – a well-trodden course that was open to them.

“Unable to deny the content of the story, the authorities decided to take issue with the way it was obtained.”

He declared that Steve Panter was pilloried to serve “interests of justice blinkered to the wider issues” and to the working of democracy itself.

And he added: “Since Tuesday’s not guilty verdict, Mr Panter is now the only person who could face a penalty in connection with the Manchester bomb. It is difficult to contemplate a more ridiculous – and dangerous – state of affairs.

“Not only will journalists themselves feel threatened, but vital sources of information upon which justice and democracy have often depended, will feel compromised.

“It was not an anti-police story. It was a story of very proper public interest. Protection of sources is a right granted by both Parliament and by the European courts and we will support Mr Panter in every way to see his rights and his source are protected.”

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