By SCOTT INGLIS
The killers of Liverpool toddler James Bulger could be sent to live in New Zealand with new identities under a British Home Office plan.
But the New Zealand Government has all but ruled out the proposal, with Prime Minister Helen Clark saying: "I would have thought the days of the penal colony were over."
Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were aged 10 when they abducted 2-year-old James and bludgeoned him to death in 1993 in a case that shocked Britain. The British Parole Board will make a final decision on their release in the New Year.
The Mail on Sunday reported that "senior sources" had outlined a plan to give the convicted murderers new identities and secretly usher them out of Britain. Australia and Canada were other possible new homes for them.
Britain would arrange new, secret identities and pay travel expenses, initial accommodation costs and provide a Home Office-appointed counsellor to oversee their rehabilitation.
The youths would be under constant supervision. Their parents would be offered the chance to join them overseas, at their own cost.
The New Zealand Government said yesterday that Britain had not approached it and Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said it was unlikely the plan would be approved.
"I wouldn't welcome taking responsibility for one or both of the offenders who committed such a horrific offence. I don't see that as New Zealand's primary responsibility, quite frankly."
New Zealand residence is not given to people who have been jailed for certain terms including five years or more, or 12 months or more in the past decade.
Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel has sweeping powers to make special exceptions.
"On this occasion I would not even entertain a request for a special direction without a directive or prior approval from cabinet," she told the Herald.
Under the Immigration Act, the minister does not have to consider any such request, nor give any reasons for any decisions.
Asked how she thought New Zealanders might feel about the idea, she replied: "I think they would be absolutely appalled at the suggestion."
Earlier yesterday, the Prime Minister questioned whether the plan even existed.
"I would find it odd if this were the British Government's intention that we read about it on the wires on a Monday morning; all it can be at this time is sheer speculation."
A spokesman for Australian Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock also denied any approach had been made. Canadian authorities could not be contacted.
After Venables and Thompson were convicted, the media were banned from publishing details about their detention. That ban was to expire when they turned 18 in August this year, but was extended by the High Court Family Division.
A Home Office spokeswoman said no decisions had been made about release arrangements.
Venables has flourished academically while in detention. The Home Office is said to be keen to show how well they have done.
There are fears of revenge attacks against them, with Ralph Bulger, the father of the murdered boy, saying he would hunt them down.
Both he and James' mother, Denise, have called for them to serve a 15-year term in jail.
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