But victim’s dad wants his identity exposed

BY ANDY LINES ONE of James Bulger’s warped killers has begged a court to let him have anonymity for good because he fears for his own life.

Tragic James’s father, Ralph, is bidding to get the order on Jon Venables “varied” to expose details about him, arguing that a full press gag has “not washed with the public”.

But Edward Fitzgerald, representing Venables, told the High Court: “Successive judicial findings show there is a real risk of serious personal violence, if not death.

“There are graphic statements that this person should be killed. Any variation could lead to targeted violence.”

A ban on identifying Venables, now 36, and his accomplice Robert Thompson has been in place since they were released on licence from their life sentences in 2001.

Since then, Venables has been jailed twice for having indecent images and is still serving time for his most recent conviction, from February last year.

The fiend was jailed for 40 months after he admitted having more than 1000 indecent images and a “paedophile manual”.

Robin Makin, representing Ralph, said: “The authorities do not want there to be scrutiny or accountability of their handling of him. How he has been managed should not be buried.”

Makin also insisted that the official injunction is worthless as so much information on Venables can be found on the web.

He said: “The reality is if someone types the name ‘Jon Venables’ into a mainstream search engine, the material comes up.”

Makin said the rules must be changed because this is “a very high-profile case” about a “child murderer who then committed two serious sexual offences – an undoubted danger to the public”.

He added: “JV has been trained by the state to be dishonest – to hide his identity – and has developed techniques for dealing with such matters.”

Ve n a b l e s and Thompson were 10 when kidnapped, tortured and murdered two-year-old James in Merseyside in 1993.

James’s mother, Denise Fergus, is not involved in the proceedings and no challenge is being brought against the anonymity granted to Thompson.

Ralph is taking the legal action with his brother Jimmy. Neither were in court yesterday.

The case is being heard by the president of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, who said he would give his judgement tomorrow.

LAWYER ROBIN MAKIN ON THE CHILD KILLER