Denise Fergus, mother of murdered toddler James Bulger, has shared her reaction to murderer Jon Venables being denied parole.
Following a two-day hearing this week, the Parole Board decided not to grant it to Venables, 30 years on from Bulger’s murder.
Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were just 10-years-old when they kidnapped, tortured and killed two-year-old James Bulger on February 12, 1993.
Both killers were sentenced to life in prison, before being released on license with new identities in 2001.
Denise Fergus told GB News she was ‘still in a state of shock’ about her son’s murder
GB News
Venables went on to commit more crimes, being jailed again in 2010 and 2017, for owning indecent images of children on his personal computer.
The Parole Board said that decisions are “solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public” if released, and whether the risk is manageable in the community.
Reacting to the decision, James’ mother Denise told GB News in an exclusive interview that she was “still in a state of shock” after fighting for justice for so many years.
Eamonn Holmes asked Denise: “When you got the phone call yesterday to say that Venables was not being released, how did that feel?”
Denise revealed: “I was kind of numb. I think I still am in a state of shock because after 30 years, I finally feel like I’m getting listened to now and everything that I’ve said in the past, it’s rung true.
“I did say if the two of them weren’t properly punished for the crime that they committed, they only spent just over 7 years in a young offenders, they never went to an adult prison.
“And I did say if they don’t spend any time in a proper jail, either one or both of them will go on to reoffend and commit more crimes. And I was proven right with Venables.”
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said he “welcomed” the ruling to keep James’ killer behind bars.
James Bulger was two-years-old when he was murdered by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson in Liverpool in 1993
PA
When asked if Denise will continue to fight for justice for her son, she said: “I’ve come 30 years fighting justice for James, and I’ll do it for as long as I need to do it, as long as I can do it, until I get the proper justice.
“I feel like I’ve got some kind of justice for him now because he’s [Venables] been denied parole, and I am getting the backings of some MPs now.
“Dominic Raab and Alex Chalk, what they’ve been saying to me, they’ve stood by their words and they’ve helped me get some kinds of justice which I’ve never had before.”
