The killers of British toddler James Bulger today won a court order protecting their anonymity once they are freed with new identities.
The President of the Family Division, Lady Justice Butler-Sloss, said: "I have come to the conclusion that I am compelled to take steps in the almost unique circumstances of this case to protect their lives and physical wellbeing."
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| James Bulger |
Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, who killed the child when they were aged 10, have now both turned 18. They hope to win parole early this year following a ruling by Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf they had served the minimum tariff necessary under their life sentences.
The pair beat two-year-old James to death on a railway line in Liverpool in February 1993. They are unlikely to be sent to a young offenders' institution or adult prison.
PA