The mother of James Bulger has said Jon Venables “feels like he is a celebrity” as she vowed to “still be fighting” to deny him parole in two years.
Denise Fergus said she is “still in shock” after hearing one of her son’s killers yesterday had his bid rejected by a parole board panel following a two-day hearing held behind closed doors.
Venables, now 41, was jailed alongside Robert Thompson in 1993 for the brutal murder of two-year-old James, when they were both aged 10.
The pair were given life sentences but were released on licence with new identities in 2001 when they were 18.
Venables was sent back to jail in 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer and served another three years before being recalled again in 2017 for the same offence.
Image: James Bulger was killed when he was two years old
On Wednesday, the panel concluded that it “was not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public”.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge, Ms Fergus said she felt like James’s killers “were never punished for the crime” because they served eight years in a young offenders prison and were then released.
And despite the decision this week, she said she will “still be fighting in two years time”, when Venables will be eligible for another parole review.
“In my eyes, he [Venables] feels like he has done right, he feels like he is the celebrity in all of this, he feels like he is the one that has been wronged, but he hasn’t,” she said.
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“I don’t think he should ever be released.”
Image: James (L) being lead away in a shopping mall on 12 February 1993 before he was murdered
Describing her son as a “joy to be around”, Ms Fergus said she has never given up giving James a voice.
“I feel like I have to speak on his behalf,” she said.
“It has taken me a long time to get over James’ death anyway, but to continue the fight the way I have done it has just been a rollercoaster ride.”
‘I have actually been listened to’
Ms Fergus said she has always thought that if the pair were released they would reoffend, because they had not been punished properly for her son’s death.
“It is the very first time I have felt in 30 years that I have actually been listened to,” she said.
“All that I have said and done in the past, it has now come to light that what I have said is the truth.”
She added: “I did say at the time because they weren’t properly punished because they weren’t in a proper prison that either one or both of them are going to go on and reoffend.
“And that is exactly what’s happened.”
Image: Denise Fergus told Sopy Ridge she had ‘finally been listened to’
Ms Fergus and James’s other relatives were barred from attending the parole hearing, but a lawyer representing them was able to listen to the proceedings.
Because of this, Venables refused to give evidence during the latest hearing, claiming he was “not comfortable discussing some aspects of the case with the family representative listening” and instead asked the panel to consider his review based solely on written evidence, according to parole papers.
“That just shows you how much of a coward he is,” Ms Fergus said, in reaction.
“He is the one that has caused 30 years of pain in my life and he took James’s life away from him. He destroyed one life but has completely destroyed my family.”
Kym Morris, chair of The James Bulger Memorial Trust, said they are now calling on Justice Secretary Alex Chalk to discuss changes to parole hearings.
“Victim families should have full access to all of the transcripts, evidence, everything,” Ms Morris said.
“If you went to a trial, you would have access to all of this, so what difference does a parole hearing have?
All 14 children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a boy died in a fire have been released on police bail, officers said.
Layton Carr, 14, was found dead near the site of a fire at Fairfield industrial park in the Bill Quay area of Gateshead on Friday.
Northumbria Police said on Saturday that they had arrested 11 boys and three girls in connection with the incident.
In an update on Sunday, a Northumbria Police spokesman said: “All those arrested have since been released on police bail pending further inquiries.”
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Teenager dies in industrial estate fire
Firefighters raced to the industrial site shortly after 8pm on Friday, putting out the blaze a short time later.
Police then issued an appeal for Carr, who was believed to be in the area at that time.
In a statement on Saturday, the force said that “sadly, following searches, a body believed to be that of 14-year-old Layton Carr was located deceased inside the building”.
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David Thompson, headteacher of Hebburn Comprehensive School, where Layton was a pupil, said the school community was “heartbroken”.
Mr Thompson described him as a “valued and much-loved member of Year 9” and said he would be “greatly missed by everyone”.
He added that the school’s “sincere condolences” were with Layton’s family and that the community would “rally together to support one another through this tragedy”.
A fundraising page on GoFundMe has been set up to help Layton’s mother pay for funeral costs.
Image: Pic: Gofundme
Organiser Stephanie Simpson said: “The last thing Georgia needs to stress trying to pay for a funeral for her Boy Any donations will help thank you.”
One tribute in a Facebook post read: “Can’t believe I’m writing this my nephew RIP Layton 💔 forever 14 you’ll be a massive miss, thinking of my sister and 2 beautiful nieces right now.”
Detective Chief Inspector Louise Jenkins, of Northumbria Police, also said: “This is an extremely tragic incident where a boy has sadly lost his life.”
She added that the force’s “thoughts are with Layton’s family as they begin to attempt to process the loss of their loved one”.
They are working to establish “the full circumstances surrounding the incident” and officers will be in the area to “offer reassurance to the public”, she added.
A cordon remains in place at the site while police carry out enquiries.
Football bodies could be forced to pay towards the care costs of ex-players who have been diagnosed with brain conditions, under proposals set to be considered by MPs.
Campaigners are drafting amendments to the Football Governance Bill, which would treat conditions caused by heading balls as an “industrial injuries issue”.
The proposals seek to require the football industry to provide the necessary financial support.
Campaigners say existing support is not fit for purpose, including the Brain Health Fund which was set up with an initial £1m by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), supported by the Premier League.
But the Premier League said the fund has supported 121 families with at-home adaptations and care home fees.
From England‘s 1966 World Cup-winning team, both Jack and Bobby Charlton died with dementia, as did Martin Peters, Ray Wilson and Nobby Stiles.
Image: Neil Ruddock speaks to Sky’s Rob Harris outside parliament
Ex-players, including former Liverpool defender Neil Ruddock, went to parliament last week to lobby MPs.
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Ruddock told Sky News he had joined campaigners “for the families who’ve gone through hell”.
“A professional footballer, greatest job in the world, but no one knew the dangers, and that’s scary,” he said.
“Every time someone heads a ball it’s got to be dangerous to you. You know, I used to head 100 balls a day in training. I didn’t realise that might affect my future.”
A study co-funded by the PFA and the Football Association (FA) in 2019 found footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of a neurodegenerative disease than members of the public of the same age.
‘In denial’
Among those calling on football authorities to contribute towards the care costs of ex-players who have gone on to develop conditions such as Alzheimer’s and dementia is Labour MP Chris Evans.
Mr Evans, who represents Caerphilly in South Wales, hopes to amend the Bill to establish a care and financial support scheme for ex-footballers and told a recent event in parliament that affected ex-players “deserve to be compensated”.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who helped to draft the amendment, said the game was “in denial about the whole thing”.
Mr Burnham called for it to be seen as “an industrial injuries issue in the same way with mining”.
A spokesperson for the FA said it was taking a “leading role in reviewing and improving the safety of our game” and that it had “already taken many proactive steps to review and address potential risk factors”.
An English Football League spokesperson said it was “working closely with other football bodies” to ensure both professional and grassroots football are “as safe as it can be”.
And that comes in the context of increased warnings from government and the security services about Iranian activity on British soil.
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Counter terror officers raid property
Last year, the director general of MI5, Ken McCallum, said his organisation and police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents since January 2022.
He linked that increase to the ongoing situation in Iran’s own backyard.
“As events unfold in the Middle East, we will give our fullest attention to the risk of an increase in – or a broadening of – Iranian state aggression in the UK,” he said.
The implication is that even as Iran grapples with a rapidly changing situation in its own region, having seen its proxies, Hezbollahin Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, decimated and itself coming under Israeli attack, it may seek avenues further abroad.
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The government reiterated this warning only a few weeks ago, with security minister Dan Jarvis addressing parliament.
“The threat from Iran sits in a wider context of the growing, diversifying and evolving threat that the UK faces from malign activity by a number of states,” Jarvis said.
“The threat from states has become increasingly interconnected in nature, blurring the lines between: domestic and international; online and offline; and states and their proxies.
“Turning specifically to Iran, the regime has become increasingly emboldened, asserting itself more aggressively to advance their objectives and undermine ours.”
As part of that address, Jarvis highlighted the National Security Act 2023, which “criminalises assisting a foreign intelligence service”, among other things.
So it was notable that this was the act used in one of this weekend’s investigations.
The suspects were detained under section 27 of the same act, which allows police to arrest those suspected of being “involved in foreign power threat activity”.