Anger mounts as Straw refuses to reveal why Bulger killer Jon Venables is back behind bars



James Bulger's mother: Venables is back where he belongs

Straw: Good reasons why public can't be told what he's done

Bulger murder detective demands the truth be revealed

The Government was facing mounting anger today at the secrecy surrounding the sensational return of one of James Bulger's killers to prison.

Government officials have thrown a blanket of secrecy around Jon Venables, refusing to say whether he has committed a new crime or to which jail he has been sent.

The Ministry of Justice have refused to tell even James' distraught mother the reason for the recall, believed to have happened last week.



Both Justice Secretary Jack Straw and Home Secretary Alan Johnson defended the move to keep all details quiet today.

But the detective who headed the Bulger murder investigation led calls for the truth to be revealed, insisting it would help allay people's fears.

Alan Johnson (left) and Jack Straw (right) will not say why Venables is back in jail



Albert Kirby said: 'I think the statement that came out last night actually raises more questions than it answers... It would help to clarify and put this to rest once and for all if the public did have some indication of what it is he has done.

Kept in the dark: James Bulger's mother Denise in Liverpool today

'Not where he is or details like that but the reason why his probation has been revoked and he is back inside. It's going to be asking the questions "why is he there and did the authorities fail in making the assessments of his suitability to come back into society?".'

He suggested it was unlikely a minor infringement had ended Venables' freedom, given the huge effort made to create a new life for him.



'They wouldn't - using football parlance - have given him a red card and go to prison for one infringement,' the detective said.

Mr Straw insisted there was a 'very good reason' why the murdered toddler's family and the public could not be told why Venables was back in jail.

'I'm sorry that I cannot give more information at this stage on the nature of the alleged breach. I know there's an intense public interest in why he has been recalled.



'I would like to give that information but I'm sorry that for good reasons I can't and that's in the public interest,' he said.

'There is always a careful balance that has to be maintained. I have no interest at all in withholding information gratuitously or unnecessarily.'

Mr Johnson hinted the truth would ultimately emerge but said: 'At this juncture I can say nothing more than confirm that Jon Venables is back in custody.



'I believe the public do have a right to know and I believe they will know all the facts in due course. But I must in no way prejudice the future criminal justice proceedings.'

In a statement, a spokesman for the Department of Justice only said: 'We can confirm that Jon Venables has been recalled to custody following a breach of licence conditions.



'Offenders on licence are subject to strict conditions. If they breach those conditions they are subject to immediate recall.'

Venables and his accomplice Robert Thompson were only ten when they abducted James, two, from a Liverpool shopping centre in February 1993 and murdered him in a crime which shocked the world.



But, despite the horror at their crimes, they were released from custody only eight years later without spending a single day in an adult prison, and handed new identities protected by draconian rules.



As a result, fellow prisoners will today be unaware of the horrific crime committed by their new cellmate.

Back behind bars: Jon Venables, left, abducted and murdered James Bulger, right, in February 1993

Depending on the reasons for his re-imprisonment, Venables could now face a life sentence.

James' distraught mother Denise Fergus, 42, has never felt it was safe to release either of his killers and says Venables is not back 'where he belongs'.

'Would like to let everyone know Jon Venables is were he belongs tonight behind bars is this my sons justice [sic],' she wrote on Twitter.

Hinting at the family's anguish, her husband Stuart added: 'Thinking when will this all end for my wife.'

A spokesman for Mrs Fergus said last night: 'She believes this breach of parole shows that she was right.



Controversial: Robert Thompson was given a new identity. He is understood to be living with a homosexual partner

'The Probation Service has promised to keep Denise informed about progress in the case and has assured her that she was not in danger at any time. But she believes that she and the public have a right to know what Venables has done.'

Mr Kirby said he had spoken to Denise and that the news had brought 'a whole load of anxiety' back to her.



He said: 'There's always been a lot of anxiety as to where both boys are and to hear something like that brings back to her a lot of the concerns, quite understandably, that she and any other parents in these sorts of circumstances would have.'



Venables sees a small band of very senior probation officers who are sworn to secrecy about his conduct.



If at any stage they believe his behaviour is deteriorating, or he is taking drugs, they have the power to request his recall to jail.



This took place last week but was kept secret until last night.



Venables will now be able to appeal against his recall within 28 days. If successful, he can once again be released.

If not, he could face a life sentence under the licence conditions.

'There must be a possibility of his new identity being exposed in prison and the inference must be it was a serious breach'



Barrister Michael Wolkind QC

LICENCE CONDITIONS

When Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were released in 2001, their parole was subject to strict conditions: They were ordered to end contact with each other;

They could not contact or attempt to contact any member of the Bulger family;



The killers were not allowed to enter the metropolitan County of Merseyside without the prior written consent of their probation officers;

If their behaviour deteriorated or they started using drugs they could be sent back to prison;

If they are jailed again, they could face a life sentence.



Harry Fletcher, of the probation union Napo, said there was extraordinary secrecy surrounding Venables. He said: 'The recall is being confirmed now because somebody has found out.'

Venables' solicitor, Laurence Lee, said he was 'shocked' by the news.

'If I were a betting man and someone said to me "One of the two killers of Jamie Bulger had been arrested and returned to prison", I would have put a lot of money on it not being Jon because he was by unanimous agreement the lesser evil of the two,' he told the BBC.



'He could have been recalled on licence if he committed an offence, it could be that he returned to Merseyside, it could be he might have approached the family. There is no evidence so far that he did any of these things.'

Barrister Michael Wolkind QC said he thought there was a 'significant chance' the breach had been serious.

'Licence is a means of controlling people once they are released,' he said. 'Now this has been publicised, I think there must be a possibility of his new identity being exposed in prison and the inference must be it was a serious breach.

'To go to all the trouble of building him a new identity and a new life, there must be a significant chance it was serious.'

Led away: A security camera captures James hand-in-hand with one of his killers at a shopping centre in Liverpool

The restrictions placed upon Venables included not returning to the city of his crime, contacting the Bulgers or contacting Thompson.

Since being freed, Venables has been given help with his education, finding jobs and

accommodation.

While strict court orders have drawn a veil of secrecy on the killers' lives, it is known Venables, now believed to be a born-again Christian, had settled down and was planning to marry.



Thompson is understood to be living with a homosexual partner.



But Venables was also reported to have been involved in several violent incidents, including in December 2007 when he was said to have been stabbed after accusing someone of chatting up his girlfriend.

Distraught: James' mother Denise with her husband Stuart

David Blunkett, who as Home Secretary informed MPs of the Parole Board's decision that Venables should be released in 2001, said he had heard of his return to custody 'with great regret'.



'It is nine years since Jon Venables was granted conditional release by the Parole Board,' he said.



'As the incoming Home Secretary, it was my duty to ensure that every safeguard for the public was put in place and that the terms of the release - initially on licence - should be reinforced.

'Almost a decade later, it is with great regret that I have learned of the breach - but it is a great credit to the professionals undertaking the supervision and the continuing follow-through work that action has been taken and the original terms enforced.'

Family holiday: James playing with his mother Denise

It was on February 13, 1993, Venables and Thompson abducted James and killed him on a railway line.

The toddler's battered body was found by children playing on a freight railway line 200 yards from a police station and more than two miles from the Strand shopping centre.

Infamous CCTV images released at the time of the crime showed James being led away by the hand.



The two boys, who were truanting from school, walked James around the streets of Liverpool for more than two miles, stopping occasionally to kick and punch him.



They told adults who intervened that he was their brother.



They left his body on the tracks in the hope it would be destroyed by a train.



The toddler had been splattered with blue paint and his battered head lay surrounded by a pile of bricks.

Days later Venables and Thompson were arrested and, when they were charged, were the youngest to face a murder prosecution in the 20th century.



In November that year, they were convicted following a 17-day trial at Preston Crown Court.

Trial judge Mr Justice Morland told the pair they had committed a crime of 'unparalleled evil and barbarity'.