James Bulger's boy killer back in police custody: report

LONDON -- The mother of a toddler killed by two boys in one of Britain’s most notorious murders told of her torment on Monday amid reports one of the freed killers was being held over suspected child pornography.

James Bulger, two, was beaten to death on a railway line in Liverpool, northwest England, in 1993 by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, who were aged just 10 at the time.

The pair, who became hate figures in Britain, were later given new identities and released on licence in 2001.

A string of media reports suggest Venables, now aged 27, has now been taken back into custody over alleged child pornography offences but has not yet been charged.

While confirming an investigation into Venables is under way, ministers have refused to officially reveal the nature of the claims, saying it could prejudice a future criminal trial.

Denise Fergus, James’s mother, has accused officials of breaking a promise to tell her if either of the young killers broke the terms of their release.

“My head has been all over the place. I don’t know what he has done,” she told Britain's ITV.

“I have had sleepless nights and I am not eating again -- I have had to pull my kids out of school.

“It is just one massive rollercoaster again for me and I can’t believe that they are putting me through this.”

Amid intense media pressure to reveal more details of what Venables is accused of, Justice Secretary Jack Straw is making a statement to the House of Commons later and has hinted he could reveal more details of the case.

But he seemed to confirm some of the allegations in an interview Monday.

“What I want to do is to look at what has already been made public... to look at that and then to make a judgment about whether there is information that, given it is now out in any event, we could now confirm,” he told BBC radio.