James Bulger mother shocked over Venables reports

Jon Venables

Sources close to James Bulger's mother Denise Fergus say she has been shocked at reports that Jon Venables had visited Liverpool in breach of the ban on him entering Merseyside.

According the the Daily Mirror, Venables, 27, has made several trips to Liverpool following his release on licence under a life sentence for murdering James in 1993..

His trips are said to have included drink-fuelled nights in the city's clubland along with visits to Everton's Goodison Park ground to watch matches. He is known to be an Everton fan.

Venables, and his schoolpal Robert Thompson, were both aged 10 when they snatched James from a shopping centre at Bootle and led him to a lonly railway line where he was stoned and battered to death.

After being released on licence and with a new identity in 2001, Venables was ordered not to return to Merseyside, among a series of other conditions.

The further revelations about his behaviour come after it emerged this week that the killer was recalled to custody for breaching his licence.

Ministers have refusing to give details about what he did, despite growing demands for information.

Victims' rights champion Helen Newlove, whose husband Garry was kicked to death by a gang of yobs outside their home in Warrington in 2007, said it was cruel not to tell James Bulger's parents the full details

Mrs Newlove said: "It is another case of the victims not coming into it and the criminals being protected. What Jack Straw has said is ludicrous. Venables has breached his parole and should be staying in jail.

"Venables and Thompson have been given everything on a plate and now we're not even allowed to know the circumstances surrounding this - it is a disgrace."

Venables was taken back to prison last week after reportedly fighting with a work colleague and developing a drug problem.

A spokesman for Denise Fergus said: "The detail in the Daily Mirror reports has the ring of truth and it is a deep a source of deep concern.

"If half of what has been reported is true, it raises very serious questions about the manner in which Jon Venables' parole licence has been supervised over the last five years.

"Denise wants the to know truth and does not accept that Venables' anonymity means that what he has done cannot be made public."

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