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<\/p>\nJames Bulger killer Jon Venables’ parole bid has been delayed by two weeks, justice chiefs revealed today.<\/p>\n
Two-year-old James was tortured and killed by Venables and his accomplice Robert Thompson, both aged 10, after they snatched him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside in 1993.<\/p>\n
Venables, now 41, was granted a private hearing after the Parole Board ruled that a public one would cause ‘disproportionate emotional stress’ to the killer, but he still didn’t show up.<\/p>\n
Parole Board chiefs have now decided to delay a decision on Venables’ parole bid to mid-December – sparking fears that the depraved murderer could be quietly released just before Christmas.<\/p>\n
A source told the Sun: ‘James\u2019 family are terrified of what this means. It is really irregular to take so long and they are worried Venables could be sneaked out when it is quiet before Christmas and parliament is not sitting.<\/p>\n
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Venables (pictured here in 1993) tortured and killed two-year-old james Bulger in 1993 when they were just 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Two-year-old James Bulger (pictured) was tortured and killed by Venables and Robert Thompson after they snatched him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside in 1993<\/p>\n
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Denise Fergus previously said she endured ‘three decades of hell’ after Venables killed her son\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘Normally his release would spark questions in the Commons but that wouldn\u2019t happen if he comes out just before Christmas.’<\/p>\n
It comes after David Blunkett called for Venables’ parole appeal to be thrown out. The former Labour Home Secretary made clear Venables should stay behind bars after reports that he failed to appear at his own behind-closed-doors parole case earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Lord Blunkett said: ‘Where there has been a serious doubt about successful rehabilitation, it is a prerequisite of consideration for release that the individual appears in person.’<\/p>\n
Tory ex-Justice Secretaries Sir Robert Buckland, Brandon Lewis and Chris Grayling also made clear that Venables \u2013 who like Thompson was aged ten at the time of the murder \u2013 should stay in custody.<\/p>\n
Denise Fergus, James’s mother, previously said she endured ‘three decades of hell’ after Venables killed her son and urged the board to ‘keep people safe from this monster’ by denying his parole.<\/p>\n
She told The Mirror: ‘If he goes on to commit more crimes after you release him, it will be on your shoulders. So, I’m just asking you to do the right thing.’<\/p>\n
The heartbroken mother argued that Venables ‘seems to have the upper hand’ because of the protections he has been afforded, such as a private hearing and new identity if his release is granted.<\/p>\n
‘Sometimes it feels like we are the criminals, not him, which is ridiculous,’ she added.<\/p>\n
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Venables and Thompson kidnapped, tortured and killed James (pictured above) before leaving his mutilated body by a railway line in Liverpool in February 1993.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Ms Fergus said earlier this month that she was ‘anxious’ ahead of the hearing because ‘fate is in the hands of parole board bosses’.<\/p>\n
She wants the parole board to ‘keep my son’s killer behind bars’, alleging that doing so is the ‘right decision’ for everyone.<\/p>\n
She further argued that Venables has already been given ‘many chances’ at redemption and has ‘blown them all’. She believes he ‘doesn’t care about anybody’ and fears he will harm more people if he is released.<\/p>\n
Ms Fergus reiterated that although she is ‘worried’ about the hearing, she has ‘confidence’ in the parole board and hopes the ‘bosses will see what this man is capable of, what he could inflict on society’.<\/p>\n
Venables and Thompson kidnapped, tortured and killed James before leaving his mutilated body by a railway line in Liverpool in February 1993. Both were jailed for the toddler’s murder in November that year.<\/p>\n
Venables was released on strict licence in July 2001, and recalled to prison in February 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer.<\/p>\n
He was again released in August 2013, and then called back in November 2017 for the same offence. His most recent parole review was in September 2020 at which his application for parole was rejected.<\/p>\n
If he is released, Venables will be protected by a life-long anonymity order and will live under a new identity.<\/p>\n