Venables 'may avoid prosecution' over his parole breach

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, it was reported at the weekend.

Ministry of Justice sources said yesterday that no decision had been made over prosecution for breaking his parole conditions.

Events unfolded 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.

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."

She added: "It is a shock to people like Dr Atkinson that children can be truly evil by 10. But it is a fact and I fear there will be more of them and we need laws to be tightened up so we can deal with them."

Mr Straw has repeatedly refused to confirm why Venables was returned to custody.

Dr Atkinson said children under the age of 12 should not be prosecuted for any crime.

But the Ministry of Justice responded by saying: "We believe that children aged 10 and over can differentiate between bad behaviour and serious wrongdoing.

"We do not intend to raise the age of criminal responsibility."

Tory frontbencher Ken Clarke, who was Home Secretary at the time of the Bulger case, commented: "I do not actually agree with the Children's Commissioner but she obviously should not resign for expressing an opinion on a perfectly serious and quite difficult subject.

"I think Venables should be allowed a fair trial on whatever it is he might be charged with, I do think we ought to have some common sense on this subject."

He added: "This is a particularly difficult and anguished case and I still have confidence in the rule of law."

Until the late 1990s the law required proof that a child knew what they did was seriously wrong before a prosecution could take place.

Shadow Justice Secretary Dominic Grieve said: "Changing the age of criminal responsibility is not the answer. We need fundamental reform to address the causes of offending by children, including family breakdown, poverty, gang culture and school discipline."