ONE OF the killers of Jamie Bulger, Jon Venables, has been returned to prison for alleged child pornography offences, it was reported yesterday, as the British government maintained its refusal to comment on the reasons behind his loss of liberty.
Venables, now 27, who was released on licence in 2001 and given a new identity, could face trial for the alleged new crime, the London-based Sunday Mirrorreported.
Ministers have faced increasing pressure to give details about the reasons behind Venables’s loss of liberty since it emerged earlier this week that his parole had been revoked. The justice secretary, Jack Straw, has said only that it happened because of “extremely serious allegations”.
He will meet Bulger’s mother, Denise Fergus, this week. According to Mr Straw, disclosure of Venables’s alleged offence would “undermine the integrity of the criminal justice process”.
Harriet Harman, the leader of the Commons, reiterated this point, telling BBC TV’s Andrew Marr Show: “We don’t want anything to happen whereby they can’t be brought to a trial because it is said that they can’t get a fair trial because all the media reporting has been prejudiced.”
A ministry of justice spokesman declined to comment on the child pornography claims. He said: “We cannot confirm or deny anything with regard to this.”
Venables and Robert Thompson, then aged 10, lured two-year-old Bulger away from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993, and battered him to death. Under the terms of their release, they must adhere to a series of strict conditions, including that they never make contact with each other or return to Liverpool.
At the time of the trial, Venables was viewed as the more hopeful case for rehabilitation, because he was apparently more remorseful than his co-accused. However, a series of media reports since his return to prison allege he has since become a heavy user of drugs and alcohol, and has experienced serious psychological problems.
Venables’s mental state has become so fragile that he has felt compelled to reveal his true identity to others, even strangers, according to reports.
He and Thompson were initially sentenced to a minimum tariff of eight years, later raised to 10 and then 15 years. The term was subsequently reduced again to eight years, with the European Court of Human Rights condemning the boys’ trial in an adult court as “inhuman and degrading”. – (Guardian service)