Bell victim’s family angry at decision

THE family of one of Mary Bell’s victims were “devastated” about yesterday’s High Court decision on her anonymity.

Sharon Richardson, the sister of Martin Brown, four, who was murdered by Bell, said after the hearing: "We are devastated. We have been treated like crap."

Ms Richardson was angered that no conditions had been made in respect of the anonymity order in particular, conditions preventing her from making money and preventing her from living in the North East.

She added: "We just want to be left alone... it's our time for privacy."

Asked whether she thought she had been treated fairly, Ms Richardson replied: "We were not allowed to put submissions in or make statements. It is more disappointment than anger. I thought we had a better legal system than this."

She added: "If she is not identified, there should be guidelines to say she is not allowed to make more money."

Ms Richardson went on: "The judge did not say if she could make any more money or anything else.

"It takes us no further forward. There is nothing to stop her writing another book."

She went on: "We are very disappointed. The most disappointing aspect is that there were no conditions on the anonymity."

Author Gitta Sereny, who wrote a book about Mary Bell, was in court to hear the judge's decision.

She said afterwards: "I think the judge's decision was right. I think it was fine."

Asked whether a murderer should be given special rights, Sereny replied: "This is not the woman. In those days, she was an 11-year-old child and she is now a different person."

Sereny said publication of another book was "completely unlikely".

But the author did understand the family's feelings and said: "Absolutely, they are perfectly justified feeling like that.

"I refuse to be on TV with them because it is absolutely impossible and inappropriate to counter them in any way."

Discussing Mary Bell, whom Sereny now describes as a "pal", she said: "She is desperate to draw a line under all of this. She is aware and constantly thinking about what happened. Now she wants to live quietly."

As she left the court, Ms Richardson called her mother June to tell her the news.

She said later: "I just want a normal life now. I just want to look forward and get on with it."

She and sister Linda Brown said that they thought the government had let them down.

Ms Brown said: "The government has let us down every step of the way.

"We wanted to have some more limits on her anonymity and stop her travelling to the North East and making any more money out of this.

"I wanted her to fade away into insignificance."

Ms Richardson added: "I have no personal feelings for her. I feel nothing and the government have let us down every step of the way.

"Everyone wants to know Mary Bell's story, so it will never be the end of it.

"No one is interested in our family it is just Mary Bell. All we can hope is that this doesn't happen to other families because it rips you apart."