7:10pm Sunday 14th March 2010
© Press Association 2011
Pressure has been mounting on the Government to clarify whether James Bulger killer Jon Venables will escape prosecution for the alleged breach which landed him back in jail.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw is being pushed by senior advisors to take the "easier option" of leaving the case in the hands of parole chiefs to stop "lurid details coming out in full Technicolor" should he appear in court, the News of the World reported.
Ministry of Justice sources said that "no decision had been made" over prosecution for breaking his parole conditions.
It came as James's mother, Denise Fergus called for the Children's Commissioner to be sacked for "twisted and insensitive" comments about the murder of her two-year-old son.
She spoke out after Dr Maggie Atkinson said his killers should never have been prosecuted because they were too young to understand the full consequences of their actions.
The Government has ruled out Dr Atkinson's proposal to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years, saying children aged 10 and over did know the difference between "bad behaviour and serious wrongdoing".
Dr Atkinson described the killing as "exceptionally unpleasant" but said it was wrong that Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, who were 10 in 1993 when they were charged with the boy's murder, were tried in an adult court.
Mrs Fergus told reporters: "This woman owes James and me an apology for her twisted and insensitive comments. Then she should resign or be sacked. To say that his killers should not have been tried in an adult court is stupid. They committed an adult crime - a cold-blooded murder that was planned and premeditated and they were tried accordingly."
Mrs Fergus met Mr Straw earlier this week to discuss the return to custody of Venables.
Mr Straw has repeatedly refused to confirm the details of why Venables was returned to custody and has said only that he faces "very serious allegations".
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