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October 29, 2014updated 03 Nov 2014 2:58pm

NoW reporter defends leak story: ‘Public should know about how Jon Venables is getting special treatment’

By PA Mediapoint

Exposing the "comfortable" lifestyle of James Bulger's killer behind bars was more important than sparing the feelings of a man who did "despicable things", a News of the World reporter told a court. (Picture: Reuters)

The journalist, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is on trial at the Old Bailey for conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office by using prison officer Scott Chapman as the paid source for two stories on Jon Venables after he was sent back to jail in 2010 for child porn offences.

In a heated exchange under cross-examination, the defendant told jurors it was in the public interest to highlight Venables's special treatment by the prison service.

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