Bulger killer suspected of ‘child porn offences’

JAMES BULGER’S killer Jon Venables was recalled to prison on suspicion of child porn offences, it was reported yesterday.

The 27-year-old convicted murderer, who was controversially released on licence in 2001, also sparked concerns from probation officers after revealing his identity and abusing drugs, the Sunday Mirror report said.

The fresh speculation over what prompted his return to custody just over a week ago comes after Justice Secretary Jack Straw refused to disclose the reasons, saying only that they related to “extremely serious allegations”.

James’s mother Denise Fergus said yesterday that Venables should lose his anonymity if he is charged with a new offence.

Her spokesman, Chris Johnson, said: “If after that, depending on the outcome of the court case, the powers that be decide that he should have some new identity yet again, then we’ll deal with that when we come to it.

“But she can’t understand why he doesn’t appear in a dock under his own name, if that’s going to be where he ends up.”

Johnson added: “She’s appalled. She doesn’t think that he should be at liberty anyway.

“He should really have served a sentence of something in the order of 15 years and should be coming up for parole now.

“In her mind, if there has been an offence committed, it means that that could have been avoided.”

Denise Fergus has demanded to know why Venables was put back in jail, and is meeting Straw this week to discuss the matter.

The killer and his accomplice Robert Thompson were just 10 when theybattered two-year-old James to death in Liverpool 17 years ago.

They were both released on lifelong licence in 2001 with new identities, requiring them to obey strict conditions such as not contacting each other or returning to the city where James was killed.

Reports last week said Venables has visited nightclubs and a pop concert in Liverpool and watched Premier League side Everton at Goodison Park.

He is also reported to have worked as a nightclub bouncer and had a history of drug abuse.

Venables reportedly faces a looming return to court over the “extremely serious” allegations, causing a potential security nightmare for the authorities trying to preserve his lifelong anonymity order.

Justifying his decision not to disclose details of Venables’s recall, Straw said: “I said on Wednesday that I was unable to give further details of the reasons for Jon Venables’s return to custody, because it was not in the public interest to do so.

“That view was shared by the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

“We all feared that a premature disclosure of information would undermine the integrity of the criminal justice process, including the investigation and potential prosecution of individual(s).”

He added: “Our motivation throughout has been solely to ensure that some extremely serious allegations are properly investigated and that justice is done.

“No one in this country would want anything other. That is what the authorities remain determined to do.”

David Blunkett, who as Home Secretary informed MPs of the Parole Board’s decision that Venables should be released in 2001, backed his former cabinet colleague’s decision yesterday.