Ministry of Justice to review Jon Venables' supervision

Jul 24 2010 by Ben Turner, Liverpool Echo

THE Ministry of Justice has confirmed it is to review the way killer Jon Venables was supervised following his releease from custody in 2001.

The pledge comes as it has been reported James Bulger's Killer will also be given a new identity at a cost to the taxpayer of £250,000.

He was jailed for two years after admitting downloading pornographic images of toddlers.

The Daily Telegraph reported Venables - who along with Robert Thompson battered and murdered two-year-old James Bulger - will be issued with a new birth certificate, national insurance number and other identity documents at a cost of £250,000 when he is released. But a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice said it did not accept it was "inevitable" he would be given a new identity.

Former Home Office permanent secretary Sir David Omand will oversee the probe which will scrutinise the arrangements for the supervision of Venables by agencies including the probation and police.

Venables and his friend Thompson were just 10 when they killed James in Bootle, Merseyside, and became national hate figures. They were jailed for life in 1993 and given new identities when they were released on licence in 2001.