Jon Venables has had his hopes of Christmas freedom dashed after a parole hearing was ditched until the new year.
The 40-year-old, who abducted and brutally murdered James Bulger in 1993, was set for a board showdown this month. But turmoil in Westminster has led to it being delayed by at least three months.
The decision was welcomed by the two-year-old’s mum Denise Fergus, reports the Mirror.
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Her spokeswoman said: “The uncertainty of whether James’ killer was coming out of prison has been a great worry. Denise has had to brace herself for a call telling us that he was free but this news has brought great relief and we’re delighted in the short term.
“She can now have a family Christmas not worrying about whether her son’s killer is walking the streets as a free man.”
James’ family were given a further boost this week when Dominic Raab, who had instigated parole board reform earlier this year and plans for an inquiry into the death, was reinstated into the role of Justice Secretary. Meetings with the minister earlier this year led to Denise saying they were her biggest successes “in almost 30 years in fighting for justice for James”.
The spokeswoman added that Denise was hopeful her campaign to keep Venables in jail indefinitely and push for an inquiry would now be “back on track”.
Earlier this month, Denise had pleaded with then prime minister Liz Truss to keep Venables locked up, claiming he still poses a danger to society having reoffended twice since killing James.
James was murdered by Venables and Robert Thompson – both then aged 10. They grabbed him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, after his mum let him go for a second.
The killers dragged him two miles to a rail line where they tortured him to death. They were convicted of murder 29 years ago and ordered to be detained indefinitely.
Yet they were released aged 18 in 2001 with new identities. 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 computer.
He was refused parole in 2020 but has made a new bid for freedom.
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