Raab should meet a mum in torment

THIS summer Jon Venables could be freed from prison

He, of course, was one of two boys who tortured and murdered James Bulger.

The crime took place almost 30 years ago. It feels like yesterday.

No more so than for James’ mum Denise Fergus. It has been 30 years of torment. The wound has never healed for her. It never will. But this latest bid for freedom seems unnecessarily cruel. An extra layer of hurt.

Venables was released in 2001 with a new identity, deemed safe to the public.

By 2010 he was back inside. Freed again, he was found with child abuse images and jailed.

We believe in rehabilitation. But it is quite clear that Venables has a pattern of behaviour.

Denise says he should not be freed. But it feels to her like she is not being heard.

Alone

In three decades she’s never heard from a senior politician.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab could change that. He could meet Denise, listen to what she has been through and make sure Venables stays behind bars.

But he won’t. Instead, she’ll be left to continue her fight alone.

In two weeks she’s due to hand in a victim impact statement, her submission to the parole board.

Denise carries a pad and paper everywhere. She is working and working to find the right words.

But it’s hard. How do you sum up the pain? The murder of your little boy, the agony that follows. The plea for justice.

Denise will find the words. She think about James every day.

As she says: “The day I stop talking about him is the day I won’t be here.”

She’ll find the words. It’s time for the Government and the Parole Board to listen to them.