James Bulger's mother says she is 'in touching distance' of justice

James Bulger’s mother says she is ‘in touching distance’ of bringing one of her son’s killers to justice 30 years after he abducted and murdered the toddler

• Denise Fergus said Jon Venables should never ‘see the light of day again’ 
• Son’s killer eligible for a parole hearing but hopes new laws will keep him in jail 
• This year marks 30 years since James Bulger was abducted and murdered 

The mother of James Bulger has said she is within ‘touching distance’ of bringing one of her son’s sadistic killers to justice.

Denise Fergus said she hoped that new laws being worked on by the Justice Secretary Dominic Raab would mean Jon Venables would never ‘see the light of day again’.

Speaking to Holly and Phil on ITV’s This Morning, she said: ‘I strongly believe that I am in touching distance now, of getting justice for one of my son’s killers.

‘I don’t want him to ever see the light of day again. I don’t think he deserves to.’

Denise Fergus said she is within ‘touching distance’ of bringing one of her son’s sadistic killers to justice

 James Bulger was brutally tortured and murdered at the age of just two years old in Bootle in 1993

This year will mark 30 years since James’ death in February 1993.

To mark the milestone, Mrs Fergus is re-releasing her autobiography with updated chapters to detail her ordeal and fight for justice to keep Venables in jail.

Talking about whether Mr Raab should intervene with Venables’ parole application, Mrs Fergus told the presenters: ‘I would like something to be put in place, which I think Dominic is going to work on.

‘I think he’s going to bring in new laws, and I’m hoping he does.

‘I’m hoping, what was said to us in that room, I’m sure he will carry it through because I trust him.’

James Bulger’s mother revealed that Jon Venables pictured above,  who was one of two ten year old boys who murdered two-year-old James Bulger in Bootle in February 1993, may never be free under a planned parole overhaul

Speaking to Holly and Phil on ITV’s This Morning, she said: ‘I strongly believe that I am in touching distance now, of getting justice for one of my son’s killers.’

In a previous interview with the Daily Mirror, Mrs Fergus claimed Mr Raab promised her his Reform Bill would keep her child’s killer in jail. 

He added to her peace of mind when he told her Venables, 40, would not walk free again under his proposed new ‘two strikes and you stay in’ policy. 

Just a month before his third birthday, James Bulger was abducted from a Liverpool shopping centre and tortured and murdered in a crime that shocked the nation.

His killers, Venables and Robert Thompson, who were both ten years old at the time, making them the youngest killers in modern English history.

Venables and Thompson were imprisoned and released on licence under strict conditions after serving eight years in secure children’s units and were given lifetime anonymity in 2001. 

Despite then being judged by a parole board ruled he was no longer a threat to public safety, Venables has since returned to prison twice after being found in possession of child abuse images, once in 2010 and again in 2018. 

He has also received cautions for separate incidents of affray and possession of cocaine. 

Venables was refused parole in 2020 and but has made a new bid for freedom.

Under the current legislation, Venables was entitled to another parole hearing within two years of his last bid in September 2020.  

Speaking about whether Venables should get another chance of rehabilitation, Mrs Fergus saiid: ‘I don’t trust him.

‘If he gets out I know for a fact there’s going to be another case that ends up like James’s.’

She told Holly and Phil she did believe Venables could be rehabilitated after ‘he blew them chances’, referring to his two returns to prison in 2013 and 2018.

‘I think he should remain in prison,’ she added. 

‘I did say if they had done an adult prison sentence, I wouldn’t took it as far as I have done, I would have been living a normal life know. 

‘But because they weren’t’ properly punished, I did say one of them or both of them will go onto re-offend, and that’s exactly what he’s done’.

Denise has never been able to go back to the shopping centre where her child was taken from her 30 years ago

Recently, Mrs Fergus revealed the struggles she has faced in the years following her son’s horrific murder.

In the book titled I Let Him Go, she reportedly said: ‘There were honestly times after James was murdered that I didn’t think I would survive until the end of any given day.   

‘The only way I have survived the years since James’s murder is to ruthlessly compartmentalise.’

James Bulger: How the murder of a toddler shocked the nation 

The murder of James Bulger was a vicious crime that shocked Britain.

Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were both 10 years old on February 12, 1993, when they abducted the two-year-old before brutally torturing and killing him.

The crime made the boys the youngest killers in modern English history.

The duo snatched James from outside a butcher’s shop in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993, while his mother popped into a store for just a few seconds.

James’ mutilated body was found on a railway line in Walton, Liverpool, two days later. 

The boys were playing truant from school, and CCTV showed them observing local children at the shopping centre, appearing to be ‘selecting a target’.

They were then captured on camera taking the boy away at 3.42pm, before leading him on a two-and-a-half mile walk through Liverpool to the village of Walton.

Venables and Thompson were seen by 38 people during the walk, and were twice challenged by bystanders because James was crying and had a bump on his forehead.

But they were able to convince the concerned people that James was their little brother and continued on their way.

They led James to a railway line near the disused Walton & Anfield Railway Station where they began torturing him – including throwing paint in his eye, pelting him with stones and bricks and dropping an iron bar on his head.

After the body was found, police launched an appeal showing the low-resolution CCTV images of the boy.

The breakthrough came when one woman recognised Venables, who she knew had skipped school with Thompson on that day, and contacted police.

They were charged with murder on February 20 and forensic tests confirmed they had the same paint on their clothes as was found on James’ body.

Around 500 protesters turned out for their initial magistrates’ court hearing due to the public outcry against the crime.

The subsequent trial at Preston Crown Court and the boys were considered to be ‘mature enough’ to know they were doing something ‘seriously wrong’.

Venables and Thompson were found guilty on November 24, 1993, with the judge describing them as ‘cunning and wicked’.

Reporting restrictions on their names were also lifted as it was considered in the public interest to do so.

Their parents were moved to different parts of the country and also received new identities due to death threats against them.  

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