James Bulger: Court rejects bid from murdered toddler's father to reveal details about killer

Anonymity order must remain to prevent killer from 'being put to death', judge says

The father and uncle of murdered toddler James Bulger have lost a legal battle to make information about one of his killers, Jon Venables, public.

Ralph and Jimmy Bulger wanted the High Court to change a lifelong anonymity order made when Venables was released in 2001.

The worldwide order has allowed Venables to live under a cloak of anonymity since his release from a life sentence for the kidnap, torture and murder of the two-year-old in February 1993.

In a ruling announced on Monday morning, Andrew McFarlane, the judge, said the order had to remain in place to avoid the killer being "put to death".

"My decision is in no way a reflection on the applicants themselves, for whom there is a profoundest sympathy," he said.

"The reality is that the case for varying the injunction has simply not been made."

"[Venables] is 'uniquely notorious' and there is a strong possibility, if not a probability, that if his identity were known he would be pursued resulting in grave and possibly fatal consequences.

"This is, therefore, a wholly exceptional case and the evidence in 2019 is more than sufficient to sustain the conclusion that there continues to be a real risk of very substantial harm to [Venables]."

Despite numerous rumours about Venables’ new life being regularly published online, anyone who releases anything which could identify his new name or location is liable to be prosecuted for contempt of court.

Lawyers for Ralph and Jimmy Bulger had argued that certain details about the killer and his life are "common knowledge" and easily accessible online.

"I accept that normally the public and parliament should be able to debate important matters relating to future policy on the basis of full disclosure of relevant information," Mr McFarlane said.

"For the reasons I have given, that is simply not possible in this case without compromising [Venables'] right to be protected from serious violence."

The Bulgers were refused permission to appeal the ruling but they can apply directly to the court of appeal.

"The authorities seem to be hell-bent on protecting [Venables] regardless of the risk to others, and this has been a primary driving force behind Ralph and Jimmy's application," Robin Makin, the solicitor-advocate representing the Bulgers, said.

Asked about making a further move to seek an appeal, he said: "We are going to have to see. You have to pay a large court fee to do it. It is an uphill struggle."

"Certainly my view is the matter does merit consideration by an appellate court."

James Bulger was killed by Venables and Robert Thompson, who were both aged 10, after they snatched him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993.

"It was a crime that, at the time, profoundly shocked the nation and now, all these years later, will still be remembered in detail by many, and also, I suspect, will be well-known to the generation of those who were not even born at the time," Mr McFarlane said, in his opening remarks.

"The family of young James Bulger were and are deserving of the greatest sympathy as the indirect victims of this most horrific crime."

Venables returned to prison in 2010 and was given a new sentence of two years, after he was caught downloading and sharing images of child abuse.

He was released for a second time in 2013 and given a new identity but was recalled once again in 2017 over possession of indecent images of children.

In February last year Venables pleaded guilty to the latest charges and was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

Robert Thompson, who was Venables’ accomplice, did not have his lifelong anonymity challenged by the Bulgers.

Additional reporting by agencies