James Bulger murderer returned to prison

Jon Venables, one of the two boys who abducted and murdered toddler James Bulger in 1993, has been found in breach of licence and returned to prison. Both he and Robert Thompson - aged only 10 at the time of the killing - were released in 2001 with new identities, and since going back to jail ministers have withheld details of his alleged offence and refused to waive his right to anonymity. Amid rampant speculation the Sun has claimed Venables is accused of committing a serious sexual offence.

Now Bulger's mother has called for Venable's anonymity to be repealed if he is charged with these "serious" allegations. Denise Fergus said Venables should face any charges under his real name.

There is no doubt that whatever Venables has been charged with it is of a serious nature, with Justice Secretary Jack Straw confirming as such since the revelation came to light. But it must also be remembered that an accused is only regarded as guilty at the moment of conviction; removing Venable's anonymity might not only seriously impede the possibility of a fair trial but might also render him susceptible to vigilante justice should he be cleared. However how despicable one finds his original crime justice still needs to allowed to operate without fear of prejudice; anonymity, however unpalatable, is the best way of guaranteeing that.

Update 08/03/2010:
The judge who originally granted anonymity to Jon Venables has warned that he could be murdered by vigilantes if his new identity is revealed. This comes amid growing speculation in the press and elsewhere over why the decision was made to return Venables to prison.

Update 09/03/2010:
I received a text message today giving what it claimed to be Jon Venable's assumed name and the location of where he has been living, along with details of the crime he is accused of committing. The message urged me to pass it on to as many people as possible; it's since been proved to be false. One cannot think of a stronger vindication of Judge Butler-Sloss' fears of a vigilante attack if such information was made public.