Game withdrawn over Bulger image

A computer game which appears to show a CCTV image of murdered toddler James Bulger being abducted has been withdrawn from sale by its distributor.

'Law and Order: Double or Nothing', which is based on the popular US television 'Law and Order', appears to show a still of the two-year-old being led away by his killers Robert Thompson and John Venables in the New Strand shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside.

The image is seen pinned to the wall of a police station in the game.

It is understood that the abduction is also referred to in the game by a fictional detective trying to solve a kidnapping.

James' mother, Denise Fergus, had written to the manufacturers of the game, Legacy Interactive, calling for the game to be withdrawn from sale.

The UK distributor of the game, Global Software Publishing, has now withdrawn the game from sale.

Legacy Interactive has apologised to Mrs Fergus and said that the picture would be removed from future copies of the game.

Thompson and Venables abducted and murdered James in 1993 when they were both ten years old. They were released in 2001 after spending eight years in youth custody and were given new identities and addresses.

(KMcA/JM)