The name was whispered in Croxteth Parks, spray-painted on walls in Liverpool’s City Centre and posted on dozens of websites - but, until today, the identity of the teenager accused of murdering Rhys Jones could not be published.

On his 18th birthday, Sean Mercer loses his juvenile status and can be named as the boy police believe fired the shot that killed 11-year-old Rhys as he walked home from football practice in August last year.

Mr Mercer, of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth has pleaded not guilty to murder and is expected to stand trial next month along with six others in connection with the killing.

Rhys died in his mother Melanie’s arms after being shot in the neck as he walked through the car park of the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth.

His murder became a symbol of British fears over youth violence and his death was marked by silence at Premiership football matches, political campaigns and a series of vigils and processions through Liverpool calling for an end to teen gun crime.

James Yates, 20, of Dodman Road, Croxteth, Gary Kays, 25, of Mallard Close, and Melvin Coy, 24, of Abbeyfield Drive, both West Derby, Liverpool, are accused alongside two boys aged 16 and 17, who cannot be identified. All have been charged with assisting an offender.

The sixth, another 17-year-old boy, has been charged with assisting an offender and possessing a firearm and ammunition.

In separate proceedings connected to the murder of Rhys, Sean Mercer’s mother Janette, 48, of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, is charged with perverting the course of justice alongside the parents of accused James Yates, 48-year-old Francis Yates and Marie Yates, 50, of Dodman Road, Croxteth, and James Hughes, 22, of Willow Way, also Croxteth.

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