Strip James’ killer of his anonymity & give us the truth at last..
»»Bulger dad’s plea as Venables bids for parole »»Demand for probe into possible sexual motives
THE father of murdered James Bulger has renewed calls for killer Jon Venables to be stripped of his anonymity as MPs prepare to discuss the horror three decades on.
Ralph Bulger wants a probe into why Venables and Robert Thompson, who were 10 when they killed the two-yearold in 1993, were released after eight years in secure children’s units.
The pair were granted lifetime anonymity when they were released on licence and this still stands as Venables, now 39, makes a new bid for parole on his second subsequent jail term over child abuse images.
He could be freed later this year, and Ralph says he should lose his anonymity.
The dad is also calling for an investigation into possible sexual motives for his son’s kidnap and murder as he reveals MPs are poised to discuss the killing in the Commons in the coming weeks.]
Ralph, 56, said: “There is a mountain of issues to address and the truth needs to come out.”
A 2018 petition calling for a public inquiry into the killing in Bootle, Merseyside, collected almost 214,000 signatures. It was backed by James’ mother Denise Fergus, but the Government rejected the call.
However, weeks later the Commons Petitions Committee agreed that MPs could discuss the issues in Parliament.
And now, four years later, that debate is finally set to take place.
Ralph wants those behind the decision to release the killers after just eight years be made accountable.
He is also demanding answers about why his family were not given counselling after James’ horrific death.
He said: “A public inquiry is long overdue so we can flush out the truth about so many issues. But top of my list must be why Venables is still one of the very few people in this country who still has lifelong anonymity despite his repeated offending against children.
“I don’t buy the argument that his life would be in danger.
“If that was the case, they would have to give secret identities to every child abuser and killer in the UK.”
Calling for a probe into possible motives, he added: “I said from day one that the attack on James was sexual but because the killers were just 10, no one could get their head around it.
“The evidence was there, but it was swept under the carpet. The public deserves to know everything about this case, including why those in authority believed they had been rehabilitated.
“James’ murder took me and my entire family to the brink of despair and yet we got nothing. No counselling, moral support, or help.
“Yet James’s killers were treated with kid gloves, given every luxury, and looked after by the best psychiatrists, doctors and counsellors in the land.”
Venables went to jail in 2010 for having child abuse images on his laptop.
He was released in 2013 with another new identity but was sent back to prison in 2017 for the same offence.
Ralph, 55, who lost a legal challenge over Venables’ anonymity order in 2019, said: “My family has been lied to by the authorities for nearly 30 years and we owe it to James to know what really went on.
“I have so many questions that need answering and only an open independent inquiry can address them.
“All victims and their families should be treated with more respect and dignity, and at the end of the day I want true transparency in this case. I want answers to the questions that have burned inside me for almost 30 years.”
A public inquiry is long overdue to flush out the truth RALPH BULGER CALLS FOR FRESH INVESTIGATION