Prisoners with hidden mobile phones 'are hunting James Bulger's killer Jon Venables after sharing supposed pictures of him'

Prisoners are using illegal mobile phones to share photographs of James Bulger's killer Jon Venables who has been sent back to jail for possession of child abuse images.

Venables, 35, was arrested in November after police found more than 1,100 indecent images of children on his computer as well as a paedophile manual, said the Daily Mail.

Fellow prisoners are now hunting the killer using illicit mobile phones as a petition calling for the release of secret files held by jail authorities on Venables has reached 100,000 signatures.

Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, both 10, were caught on CCTV at the shopping mall where they abducted James. Photo / Getty

The Government must answer a petition calling for the release of secret report by the prison service concerning an incident involving Jon Venables at the Red Bank secure unit at Vardy House in St Helens on Merseyside.

Denise Fergus, whose son Jamie Bulger was murdered by Venables and his accomplice Robert Thompson in 1993, has called on the secret report to be released - especially as "experts" continue to insist the killer has been rehabilitated.

Venables, 35, was jailed for 40 months this week after admitting possession of more than 1,100 images of child abuse and a paedophile manual all downloaded from the dark web.

More than 130,000 have signed the parliamentary petition which now must be answered by the government.

According to the petition: "Throughout the conduct of the case there have been a number of issues that have been swept under the carpet. It's high time they were investigated.

"One mystery surrounding the murder of James Bulger case is why the "experts" insisted that Jon Venables was rehabilitated.

"The report of the Prison Service into an incident at Red Bank secure unit has not been published. It is time to examine all this."

Ms Fergus is angry over the way they are treating Venables and accused them of covering up the extent of his "vile" behaviour.

Venables, and his co-accused have been granted life-long anonymity since their release from a life sentence for the kidnap, torture and murder of two-year-old James 25 years ago.

But in November last year Venables was caught with a stash of indecent pictures of children on his computer for a second time.

According to the Sun, prisoners have been made aware of Venables' current identity after the information was leaked on social media.

Sharing details of Venables' secret identity or publishing his photograph could lead to a two-year jail term for contempt of court.

A source told The Sun: "I know for a fact that inmates in many prisons now have his details. It is only a matter of time before someone catches up with him. I've put the picture up several times.

"It keeps getting removed but I don't care – I'll keep posting it because he'll be back out soon and people need to know what he looks like."

During a hearing at the Old Bailey, he pleaded guilty to downloading 1,170 images from the dark web over the course of several months as well as having a "sickening" paedophile manual.

Mr Justice Edis jailed him for three years and four months but said the Parole Board will decide when he should be released back into the community.

100,000 people have signed the petition meaning the government must supply an answer. Photo / Supplied

He said the latest images were "vile" and "heartbreaking", adding that many showed abuse of young boys like James.

Mr Justice Edis told Venables: "This case is unique because when you were 10 years old you took part in the brutal murder and torture of James Bulger.

"That was a crime which revolted the nation and which continues to do so even after the 25 years that has passed since it happened."

Of the images he downloaded, the judge said it would be "heartbreaking for any ordinary person to see this kind of material".

The judge described the manual as a "vile document" and told Venables that by consuming these "products of barbarous evil", he caused abuse to happen.

The court heard that he breached his parole in 2015 by accessing the internet but was only handed a police caution rather than being brought back to court.

The spokesman for Ms Fergus said: "There should be no further collusion or attempts to cover up his offending behaviour. If re-bailed he must be kept on a very tight leash."

He said the sentence was "too short" and Venables would leave court "believing he got away with it".

James was kidnapped, tortured and killed by Venables and Robert Thompson, who was also 10, in February 1993.

James Bulger's mother Denise Fergus, pictured in 2008, has called for a public inquiry into Jon Venables' case. Photo / Getty

In 2010, Venables pleaded guilty to charges of downloading and distributing child pornography and was jailed for two years, although he was not released until 2013.

That was not the only time he had breached the terms of his licence.

In September 2008, he was arrested on suspicion of affray after a drunken brawl and was given a formal warning by the Probation Service.

Later the same year, he was cautioned for possession of cocaine after he was found with a small amount of the class A drug.

Appearing on court via video-link from custody, he pleaded guilty to making 392 category A images, 148 category B images and 630 category C images.

He also admitted having the paedophile manual on or before November 17 last year.

Prosecutor Louis Mably QC said that, when Venables' computer was seized, police found images of children mainly aged between six and 13, although some were younger.

Mr Mably said the manual was "a disgusting and sickening document which falls far below any recognisable standard of morality".

He said Venables had software on his computer to browse the dark web.

As he was being taken to a police station, Venables said: "This is my own fault. I have let people down again.

"I have had stupid urges, inquisitive. I'm not going to be seeing this for a lot of years.

"It's not going to be a slap on the wrist for me."

The court heard that a report had found that Venables was a "high risk of real harm to children".

It stated that he has a "long-term and profound interest in children".

Mitigating, Edward Fitzgerald QC said Venables had "expressed profound remorse for his part in the murder (of James) and worked hard for rehabilitation".

The grave of murdered James Bulger in Kirkdale Cemetary in Liverpool. Photo / Getty

He said he never attempted to contact children for sexual purposes and the images he downloaded were for his own personal use.

When he was arrested, he expressed "dismay" and remorse and said he needed help to understand why he did it.