James Bulger’s killer Jon Venables has reportedly been moved to a new jail and given yet another identity after prisoners put a price on his head.
Inmates out to attack the murderer were using banned mobile phones to circulate pictures of him.
Venables – whose identity has been changed at least twice since he was released in 2001 – has been warned to keep his head down at his new prison.
Jon Venables (left) and Robert Thompson (right) were just 10 years old when they murdered two-year-old James. Venables has been sent back to prison for possessing child porn
Jamie Bulger, pictured, was killed 25 years ago. One of his murderers has been sent back to prison
It is unknown whether the latest identity is a formal legal application to change his name or an informal arrangement behind bars.
The taxpayer now faces shelling out tens of thousands of pounds to protect the child killer, reports the Sunday Mirror.
The 35-year-old has already cost the public purse at least £260,000 in legal aid.
Venables is being protected by six prison guards and a source said: ‘He’s also been told to try to keep a low profile.’
He was moved to his new jail last week.
Yesterday, James’ father, Ralph Bulger, slammed the decision to grant his son’s killer legal aid for a string of court cases, calling it ‘a disgrace’.
Venables has received £259,585 to pay for civil claims, judicial reviews and applications for new identities.
The figure does not include his original trial or most recent charge, so could be much higher.
The killer first received almost £180,000 in state cash to challenge his 15-year sentence for murder, a Freedom of Information request revealed.
James Bulger’s father (above) has slammed the decision to grant his son’s killer legal aid for a string of court cases, calling it ‘a disgrace’
Several new identities each cost £250,000 to set up and two judicial reviews cost more than £22,000.
Mr Bulger said his own application for legal aid was blocked when he tried to fund an appeal against a decision that Venables and Thompson were eligible for parole.
He said: ‘It’s a disgrace to pay this to Venables from the public purse.
‘He is a sexual predator and child killer who got all this money and yet I have consistently been denied legal aid over the years trying to keep him locked up and away from the public.
‘I have always said that the killers have been treated better than us and this proves my point beyond any doubt. It’s a real insult to James’s memory to continue to protect his killer in this way.’
Jon Venables and Robert Thompson tortured and murdered the two-year-old in 1993 when they were ten years old after abducting him from a Liverpool shopping centre.
In 2010 Venables pleaded guilty to downloading and distributing child pornography and was jailed for two years.
He is currently serving 40 months in prison after pleading guilty to having more than 1,000 indecent images of children at a trial at the Old Bailey earlier this month.
Earlier this month James’ mother Denise Fergus revealed she had only just learned the extent of her son’s sexual injuries as the 25th anniversary of his death loomed.
She demanded an inquiry into what was known by authorities when her son’s killers were released in 2001, claiming the parole board did not know all the facts before releasing the pair.
Ms Fergus’ calls were twice rejected by the Government, despite a petition signed by more than 190,000 people.
‘I have always said I didn’t want to know the full details of about the sexual abuse on my son and only found out the true extent of what they did this week,’ she said.
‘After I had learned this week, via social media, that the Government had turned down out request for a public inquiry I felt backed into a corner so I asked the relevant people to tell me everything because I need to know now, which was totally heart breaking.
‘Releasing Venables was massive mistake. Both of them should have served time in an adult prison.’