Child murderer Jon Venables is ‘terrified’ that he could spend the rest of his life behind bars because of proposed changes to the law being considered.
Venables, 40, and Robert Thompson, 39, were both aged just 10 when they kidnapped, tortured and killed two-year-old James Bulger before leaving his body by a railway line in Liverpool 30 years ago.
The toddler was snatched from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, on February 12 1993.
Both men were released in 2001 on licence for life, but Venables has been recalled to prison twice, in 2010 and 2017, having found to be in possession of indecent images of children.
He is currently awaiting a parole board hearing but it has been repeatedly delayed and is said to be fearful the law will change in the meantime.
Jon Venables, pictured in February 1993 following the murder of two-year-old James Bulger, is said to be ‘terrified’ that he could spend the rest of his life in jail if new legislation is adopted
Robert Thompson, who carried out the horrific killing alongside Venables, was also aged 10
James was snatched from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, on February 12 1993
The Victims and Prisoners Bill will make public safety the sole priority in considering the release of repeat offenders.
Currently, the rights of inmates have more weight when making such decisions.
James’ mother Denise Fergus, 55, has previously been vocal about Venables not being released and has now met Justice Secretary Alex Chalk to voice those same concerns.
A source told The Sun: ‘The family are thrilled by Venables’ fading freedom hopes.
‘They know his planned parole hearing has been put back.
‘If it’s shunted back again, the Victims and Prisoners Bill could go through parliament, meaning it would affect him.’
Denise has previously claimed former Justice Secretary Dominic 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.
Speaking about the meeting with Mr Raab, Denise told the Mirror: ‘In that meeting I was hearing words I’d always wanted to hear.
‘His lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear it all because I never believed I would hear those words.
‘The words that under his plans, Venables would never walk free again.
‘I didn’t think this day would ever come. I froze.’
James’ brother Michael Fergus, 29, said earlier this year that even after three decades he will never forgive the killers, adding that Venables must be kept behind bars.
Mr Fergus was born eight months after the tragedy, and though he never got to meet his brother, he has grown up with the impacts of those events.
He told the Sunday Express: ‘My brother’s killers will never be forgiven. They took away my older brother who I never got to meet.’
He added: ‘They robbed me of my childhood, in a nutshell.’
Michael also criticised the accommodations made for his brother’s killers, such as new identities on their release: ‘I try not to give his killers any time in my thoughts, but I still hate them for what they did. It’s disgusting the way they have been treated.’
He added that ‘justice for James’ meant ‘keeping Venables behind bars’ to provide ‘peace of mind’ for the family, particularly their mother.
He still lives close to his mother Denise, and her husband Stuart, in north west England.
Denise and James’ father Ralph divorced in 1995 as grief took its toll.
James’ mother Denise Fergus, 55, has previously been vocal about Venables not being released and has now met Justice Secretary Alex Chalk to voice those same concerns
A surveillance camera shows the abduction of two-year-old James Bulger from the Bootle Strand shopping mall February 12 1993
