Psychiatrists claimed Jon Venables posed ‘trivial’ risk

PSYCHIATRISTS said James Bulger’s killer Jon Venables posed only a “trivial” risk to the public, it was claimed today.

The assessment formed part of the legal case for Venables’ release under a new identity.

Prepared in 2000, it states, “the risks to the public are so trivial that, strictly in relation to that perspective, immediate release would be justified”.

The document also revealed that Venables had “come to terms” with the killing of the toddler.

It reads: “The Jon Venables of today is a very different person to the Jon Venables aged 10.

“It has been a very important part of his rehabilitation so far that he has come to terms in a wholly realistic way with the awfulness of his behaviour eight years ago.”

Meanwhile, the judge who granted Venables’ anonymity warned he could be murdered by vigilantes if his new identity is revealed.

Both Baroness Butler-Sloss and Justice Secretary Jack Straw defended the need for secrecy amid growing public pressure and a direct appeal from the toddler’s mother for more details about why Venables, 27, was sent back to jail.

Denise Fergus accused the Government of treating the issue like a political football.

Lady Butler-Sloss, the former president of the High Court’s family division who granted Venables anonymity on his release from prison, stressed “the enormous importance of protecting his anonymity now and if he is released because those who wanted to kill him in 2001 are likely to be out there now”.