IF the murderers of James Bulger are to be released, it is right that their anonymity is protected.

The main - probably only - purpose of their release is so that they can be re-integrated into society.

What Jon Venables and Robert Thompson did cannot be condoned or even understood. It was utterly horrifying, and no one can comprehend what they have put James Bulger's family through in the last decade.

But it has already been decided that they have fulfilled their sentence - a sentence set at eight years in recognition of the fact that they were children when they committed their heinous crime. It has already been decided that they no longer pose a threat to society - the authorities would be failing badly in their duty if they released these young men in the belief that they would harm again. It has already been decided that keeping them locked up serves no further useful purpose.

So the question now must be how to re-integrate them. If they have packs of tabloid reporters following their every move, or gangs of vigilantes chasing them, they will have no chance of re-integration.

There is an issue of press freedom here. The courts are already far too secretive in this country, often to the point where the public interest is not best served. This is why The Northern Echo regularly challenges anonymity orders.

Yet, because of the age of Venables and Thompson when they committed their crime, this is such an exceptional case that it deserves an exceptional remedy. Judge Butler-Sloss also said that because it is so exceptional it will not set a precedent.

It would be foolish to pretend that some sections of the media who are against the anonymity order do not have vested interests. Although they would dress up any story about a sighting of Venables or Thompson as interesting to the public, they would really be more concerned about boosting sales or viewing figures.

The anonymity order, sadly, is therefore necessary to prevent this dangerous hypocrisy. It will also prevent Venables and Thompson being turned into celebrities as if they were bad boy pop stars - a possibility which is too disgusting to think about.

However, the two men - and when they turn 18, they will be men - should also be told that this is a two-way street. They should forfeit their anonymity if they try to exploit their notoriety. Mary Bell's collusion with an author was as distasteful to the public as it was lucrative to her. Venables and Thompson must not be allowed to profit in this way.

Supporting the anonymity order does not mean that the victims of the crime should be forgotten. Just as Venables and Thompson should be assisted in their re-integration, so the members of James Bulger's family should be given every assistance with their futures.

However, these arguments are likely to become academic very soon. The anonymity order covers only England and Wales. It does not cover Scotland and it cannot possibly hope to cover the Internet.

Whatever the sound intentions of Judge Butler-Sloss, it seems likely that new technology will expose new flaws in the old English legal system.