The Daily Star's FREE newsletter is spectacular! Sign up today for the best stories straight to your inbox Sign up today! Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Child killer Jon Venables is days away from being released as officials prepare to ship him abroad for good.

Top-level sources insist plans for a permanent move to another country –most likely Canada – are “in motion”.

The Daily Star Sunday has learned the James Bulger killer is being kept in a private wing in prison ahead of the move.

Last month we revealed how the authorities believe paying for Venables to go to a country like Canada, Australia or New Zealand would be cheaper than funding more failed new starts in the UK.

Insiders say his move is imminent, adding: “He is currently being kept quietly away from the general lot of prisoners.

“There are a handful of people who know who he really is and where he is. It’s costing a fortune.

“The security around Venables is tight, and the thinking is he will be shipped out, probably early, from the prison when no-one is expecting it, and sent abroad.

“It’ll be a highly organised event, and probably done in the middle of the night or very early morning.”

Venables, now 34, was granted lifetime anonymity worldwide after being found guilty of the 1993 murder of toddler James.

Venables and pal Robert Thompson – both 10 at the time – snatched the two-year-old from his mum in a Liverpool shopping centre then tortured and battered him to death on a railway line.

Since walking free in 2001 he has been “outed” numerous times – even by himself – with each one leading to another costly new identity.

(Image: PA)

He was jailed again in 2010 and 2017 on child porn charges.

And this year he beat a court bid by James’ father Ralph, 52, to overturn the order, costing taxpayers £65,000. Last week, Ralph publicly warned that Venables would soon be eligible for parole and free to roam UK streets, hidden behind the mask of yet another new identity.

A source said: “Despite the murder taking place decades ago, Venables is as notorious now as he has ever been.

“And his picture, although supposed to be private, has been circulated, albeit illegally, a number of times. People who shared it have been prosecuted, but it has still made its way around and there is only so much someone can change.

“He cannot stay here. There aren’t many options.”

The Ministry of Justice has refused to speak at all about Venables’ case, and would not comment on our story.

(Image: GETTY)

But officers in witness protection in the past have told how those being relocated “get a say” in where they will end up.

And they tell how prisoners who are seen to have a “high level of threat” against them are sometimes sent to start a new life abroad.