The British Attorney General believes an article published by the Manchester Evening Newshas breached an injunction protecting the identities of James Bulger's killers and has written demanding an explanation.
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Jon Venables and Robert Thompson
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A spokesman for Lord Goldsmith said that in the department's opinion an article which appeared in the newspaper on Friday did break a High Court injunction designed to guard the safety of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.
"We have decided to go ahead and ask them for legal representations as to why, in our opinion, they have breached the injunction," said the spokesman.
The newspaper has said it "would never knowingly breach an injunction" but prompted concern when it printed information concerning the whereabouts of Thompson and Venables.
If Lord Goldsmith is not satisfied by the newspaper's explanation, he could refer the case to the High Court for prosecution for contempt of court.
Strict guidelines restricting media coverage of the pair, now aged 18, were imposed by the British High Court in January to protect them from revenge attacks.
On Friday, the Parole Board cleared the way for their release after eight years and four months in custody. When freed, they will have new names and their real identities will be known only to a very small circle of officials.
The two killers have already been the subject of numerous death threats on several Internet sites.
They abducted two-year-old James from the Strand shopping precinct in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993 when they were both 10 years old.
They tortured him and battered him to death on a railway line.
International newspapers and magazines are not covered by the High Court ruling and some have already expressed interest in publishing new photographs of the pair.
PA