Pressure mounting on Government over Jon Venables

PRESSURE was mounting on the Government today to clarify whether James Bulger killer Jon Venables will escape prosecution for the alleged breach which landed him back in jail.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw was being pushed by senior advisers to take the “easier option” of leaving the Venables case in the hands of the parole board to stop “lurid details coming out in full Technicolor” in court, it was reported.

Ministry of Justice sources said “no decision had been made” over prosecution for James Bulger’s killer for breaking his parole conditions.

The news came as James Bulger’s mother, Denise Fergus, called for the Children’s Commissioner to be sacked for “twisted and insensitive” comments about the murder of her two-year-old son.

She spoke out after Dr Maggie Atkinson said James Bulger’s killers should never have been prosecuted because they were too young to understand the full consequences of their actions.

According to reports, Venables could spend 10 years behind bars strictly for breaking his parole conditions.

The Government ruled out Dr Atkinson’s proposal to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years, saying children aged 10 and over did know the difference between “bad behaviour and serious wrongdoing”.

Mrs Fergus said: “This woman owes James and me an apology for her twisted and insensitive comments. Then she should resign or be sacked.

“To say that his killers should not have been tried in an adult court is stupid. ”

And the judge who granted lifelong anonymity to Venables said today raising the age of responsibility would be “unworkable”.

Baroness Butler-Sloss, the retired president of the High Court’s family division, said the public would never accept 10-year-old murderers escaping punishment.