The secret identities of the killers of James Bulger could be quickly uncovered and their lives put at risk, the Home Secretary, Mr David Blunkett, warned yesterday.
Senior British government officials and the mother of one of the killers have expressed concern that Robert Thompson's and Jon Venables's identities and whereabouts could be known within weeks and the Probation Service has drawn up a series of contingency plans if they are at risk of being discovered.
As fears grew that media organisations not covered by the injunction banning identification of the two teenagers could publish recent photographs and the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, prepared to rule on whether the Manchester Evening News had breached the injunction, Mr Blunkett acknowledged the concerns and called for calm.
There was a risk of reprisal, he said, if people continued to provide the "emotional adrenaline" to those who were "sick" of mind.
"It is the most horrendous case and I understand very well the very strong feelings, but nothing can bring Jamie back and we have now to address ourselves to the future. I think we all need to take a deep breath and to view what is said and done as we would view it if it were taking place in any other country.
"We are not in the Mid West in the mid-19th Century, we are in Britain in the 21st Century and we will deal with things effectively and we will deal with them in a civilised manner," he told BBC 1's Breakfast with Frost.
He continued: "The greatest safeguard we can offer to people in the community is to rehabilitate Thompson and Venables effectively, to have automatic recall if they break the licence or in any way show that they are a danger to themselves or others, and ensure that we don't from the comfort of offices or their own home have others either inciting or facilitating any action against them."
Speaking through his lawyer, James's father, Mr Ralph Bulger, also called for restraint. Mr Bulger's solicitor, Mr Robin Makin, told ITN news: "I think the time has really come for there to be restraint and for matters to fade away to allow everybody some time to reflect and allow what has been set up to take effect."
However, James's mother, Mrs Denise Fergus, has said she believes Lord Woolf, the judge who ruled last year that Thompson and Venables should be released, was responsible for putting their lives at risk.
Officials from the Home Office have raised doubts whether the new identities can be kept secret and in an interview with the News of the World, a spokeswoman for Mrs Susan Venables said she believed her son would be tracked down and murdered within a month.
"His whereabouts will be known within days and he will be dead within weeks," the spokeswoman said, indicating that the Venables family had hoped their son could begin a new life outside Britain.
"Susan has no doubt in her mind. She's convinced that her son will be dead in a month. She simply cannot see how he will stay alive," the spokeswoman said.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Mr Charles Kennedy, also cautioned against vigilante behaviour.
"Clearly a lot has gone wrong," he told Sky News. "It is very difficult to identify with the depth of emotion. Trying to be rational about it, that young boy's life is gone.
"Two other lives are still with us. Surely the best outcome is you make the most of the two lives available to you."