The brother of murdered two-year-old James Bulger has said after three decades that he will never forgive the killers. Speaking ahead of the 30th anniversary of the tragedy today, Michael Fergus said he wants “justice for James” in the form of murderer Jon Venables remaining behind bars.
James was tortured and killed by the men formerly known as Venables and Robert Thompson – who were then both aged 10 – after they snatched him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, on February 12 1993. The pair were jailed for life but released on licence with new identities in 2001.
Venables, 40, was sent back to prison in 2010 and 2017, the latter for possessing indecent images of children, and was turned down for parole in 2020. Mr Fergus was born eight months after his brother’s murder, and though he never got to meet him, he has grown up with the effects of the tragedy.
