JAMES Bulger’s mother has revealed that one of his killers, Jon Venables, may never be free under a planned parole overhaul.
Denise Fergus says Justice Secretary Dominic Raab promised her his Reform Bill would keep Venables, who has reoffended twice, in jail.
Venables has twice been returned to jail for possessing images of child sex abuse and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab told her he would not walk free again under his proposed new “two strikes and you stay in” policy.
Speaking ahead of the release of her updated autobiography I Let Him Go, Denise told the Mirror: “What we have been promised has made the last 30 years of pushing for James worth it.
“Mr Raab has told me straightforwardly that under his new legislation it would basically be a case of ‘two strikes and you stay in prison’ .
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“That would apply to the three most serious types of criminals – paedophiles, child killers and terrorists.
“There would not be endless chances at rehabilitating anyone who had committed this type of crime.
“And that meant, under Raab’s planned new law, Venables would never see the light of day.
“I feel hopeful for the first time in 30 years that this could become law and we’d have justice for James and for future potential victims.
“It would be historic.”
February 12 will be the 30th anniversary of James’s murder by Venables and Thompson after the two boys had snatched him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Liverpool, an abduction captured on CCTV.
They were convicted of murder in November 1993 and detained indefinitely, but released, aged 18, in 2001 and given new identities after spending just eight years in young offender institutions.
Thompson, 39, has not reoffended, but Venables was sent back to jail in 2010 and 2017 after being caught with child sex abuse images on his PC.
He was turned down for parole in 2020 after serving his minimum 40 months’ sentence, but has made a new bid for freedom.