New Zealand

Immigration refutes reports on John Venables' possible move to NZ

19:29 pm on 24 June 2019

Immigration New Zealand says it has not been approached by British authorities about a convicted child killer being relocated here.

It followed reports in UK media that John Venables, who as a 10-year-old killed Liverpool toddler James Bulger in 1993, might move to Canada, Australia or New Zealand.

They reported UK authorities were struggling to keep the now 36-year-old safe after giving him life-long anonymity and new identities when he was released from custody in 2001.

Nine years ago and again last year, Venables was jailed for downloading and distributing child porn.

He and his friend Robert Thompson murdered two-year-old James Bulger after abducting him from a shopping centre.

They tortured him and left his body on train tracks.