British court rules on Bulger killers

The High Court in London has ruled that two of Britain's youngest convicted murderers can have their identities protected once they are freed from prison.

The case came to court amid fears of revenge attacks against Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, who were ten years old when they abducted and killed a two-year-old boy, James Bulger.

The murder caused outrage across the country, and remains highly emotive in Britain.

Venables and Thompson are now eighteen and may be released in the next few months.

Their lawyers argued that their lives could be at risk unless the media were banned from publishing recent pictures of them or revealing their whereabouts. News organisations say the ban may encourage other notorious criminals to seek anonymity.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service