6 THE whole country was swept by a tidal wave of grief and revulsion nine years ago as the grisly details emerged of Jamie Bulger's disappearance and subsequent discovery of his body by a lonely railway line.

It is unlikely that the vast majority of the British public agrees with the release of James's murderers, particularly at such an early date, and without them having served any time in prison.

However, bearing in mind that Thompson and Venables benefit, like so many other violent criminals in modern Britain, from the libertarian view that everybody has a conscience and is capable of being rehabilitated, surely it would be wise to extend this sense of inclusivity to the disenfranchised taxpayer, who is reluctantly compelled to foot the bill?

Even by issuing a statement detailing the itemised sums being spent on this evil pair, the Government might repair some of the sense of exclusion from the decision-making process.

Anybody who watched a programme called Eyes of the Detective (Thursday, June 21 on BBC2) must have been left with the sense that only evil could motivate anyone, a child no less than an adult, to commit such horrors against an innocent toddler such as James Bulger.

Extracts of the police interviews were played, in which both Thompson and Venables could be heard lying, even denying being present at the Strand shopping precinct, from where they abducted Jamie.

Although only 10 years old at the time, Thompson could be heard quite blatantly and coldly challenging his interviewer, a detective sergeant old enough to be his grandfather, saying "you weren't there and we were".

In a recent statement David Blunkett, the new Home Secretary, said that Thompson and Venables no longer pose a danger to society. If that is true, then why are they forbidden to communicate with each other upon release?

We have drifted into a world in which small unrepresentative pressure groups whine about the "human rights" and press for the early release of convicted murderers, rapists, paedophiles, street robbers, drug dealers, and burglars. The rights of their victims, coupled with the safety and concerns of the wider communities, are marginalised.

BILL RICHARDS,

Worcester.