A parole board decision to keep Jon Venables behind bars has increased speculation that he was the prime mover in the murder of James Bulger among those who knew the two child killers growing up.
Detectives had claimed that Venables’ friend Robert Thompson was mainly responsible after they were convicted of the infamous murder when they were aged just ten in 1993.
But some of those who knew Thompson have now told that the continuing incarceration of Venables for having indecent images of children suggests that he was the ringleader.
Both offenders were freed on licence when they were aged 18 in 2001 after getting new identities with a worldwide injunction to protect their anonymity.
Thompson has stayed out of trouble since they abducted James from a shopping centre and tortured and murdered him before dumping his body on a railway line in Merseyside.
Jon Venables (left) and Robert Thompson (right) murdered two-year-old James Bulger when they were just 10 years old, making them the youngest convicted murderers in British history
James had been tortured by Thompson and Venables before he died and suffered so many injuries (42), it was unclear which one had finally caused the toddler’s death
James Bulger is seen being led out by the hand of the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside
In contrast, Venables was recalled to prison in February 2010 and was jailed for two years after more than 100 indecent images of children were found on his computer.
He was released again in August 2013, but called back in November 2017 for the same offence.
Venables was later jailed for an additional three years and four months at the Old Bailey in February 2018 for having 1,170 indecent images of children on his laptop, including 392 rated as the most serious Category A.
Nurse Lesley Henderson, 63, who was a best friend of Thompson’s mother Ann said she did not believe he was the main culprit who led Venables astray.
In an exclusive interview with , she said: ‘It was the other way round. I’m not surprised the way it has turned out with Thompson.
‘He wasn’t that bad a kid when I knew him. But I remember too much about him. It was a horrible, horrible time. I don’t want to bring it all back.’
Ms Henderson told in 1993 how she believed Thompson had been out of control, partly because his mother had failed to properly discipline him and his siblings.
She said at the time: ‘If she made a mistake, it was over discipline. I’d tell her to give them a battering — I’d even volunteer to do it — but she was scared stiff of the social services.
‘Robbie and the others knew it. They knew there were no consequences for bad behaviour. It was a mistake because on the rare occasion she hit Robbie, it stopped him playing up straight away.’
Detectives had suggested at the time of the murder that Thompson was the originator of the plot to abduct a child.
He was said to have turned to Venables in the Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle on seeing another child, saying: ‘Let’s get him lost outside so when he goes into the road he will get knocked over.’
Thompson appeared the more defiant and hard-faced of the pair during court hearings when he maintained patent lies about James’ abduction and killing.
While Venables slumped in his courtroom seat with his head hung low in shame, Thompson maintained an arrogant air which even his legal team found remarkable.
He yawned, drummed his fingers on the edge of the dock, knotted his handkerchief and shined his ring as harrowing police interviews of him and Venables were played.
Detective Phil Roberts reflected on the time he interviewed the two ten-year-olds when he appeared in ITV’s 2018 documentary James Bulger: A Mother’s Story.
He said: ‘As far as I’m concerned that day – 20 years ago – I stared evil in the face. I think Thompson was in charge, but they both attacked James.
Jon Venables (left) has been denied parole after a second conviction of child abuse image offences, while Robert Venables (right) has stayed on the right side of the law since his release aged 18
Denise Fergus has campaigned for decades to keep her son’s killers behind bars – pictured here in February 2001
‘They were a match made in hell. A freak of nature. They went out that day to kill – I truly believe that. And if they hadn’t been caught I fear they would have struck again.’
Thompson’s childhood friend Lee Parry, 40, told that he believed Venables’ life was the more chaotic of the pair.
He said: ‘Thompson wasn’t a bad kid but like Venables he came from broken homes.
‘I didn’t go to school with Thompson, but I knew one of his friends, so we hung out playing football and the like.
‘He was neglected – his school shirts were always grey.
‘His mum was a drinker, and she would just give Robert and his brother just 10p between them to buy food when she had been drinking.
‘Robert would do jobs for people such as washing cars for £1 and then buy some chips with his brother. It was a terrible tragedy what happened.
‘I knew the family home as I lived right by Everton’s ground at the time. They had to move out when it got bricked after the murder.’
Mr Parry’s mother Susan McCrossan told in an interview in 1993 how she knew Venables’ mother and had seen her drunk many times.
She revealed how Venables was once at a New Year’s Eve party with his mother, but she ignored suggestions to take him home when he developed a severe headache after staying up late.
Ms McCrossan recalled: ‘He got worse and had to lie down. She was pouring drink into herself like there was no tomorrow.’
Mr Parry added in his interview with : ‘My aunty also knew Venables and his mum.
James Bulger’s father described the ‘mental torture’ he endures every day during an interview with TalkTV
James Bulger’s mother Denise Fergus says she sees ‘some light at the end of the tunnel’ after her son’s killer Jon Venables was denied parole
In November 1993, the Daily Mail revealed the full backgrounds of the young killers
‘She was an alcoholic and would always have parties with lots of men. Jon’s family life was very chaotic so he must have been pretty messed up.
‘I’m not surprised how it’s turned out. I don’t think Venables will ever get out. He’s done now.’
Venables was first rejected for parole in September 2020 before having a new application rejected earlier this month on the grounds that he remained a danger to children and could reoffend.
The latest two-day hearing was held in private after concerns that a public hearing could ‘harm his mental health’ if it took place in public.
Parole Board members found that he had a ‘continuing issues of sexual preoccupation’ and were ‘not satisfied’ he was safe to be back on the streets.
Venables did not attend to give evidence in person, even though the hearing was private, and was given 21 days to appeal the ruling.
But his evidence ‘accepted that he had a long-term sexual interest in children/indecent images of children’, despite a ‘considerable amount of work in prison to address this area of risk’.
James vanished on February 12, 1993, after his mother Denise Fergus briefly let go of his hand at the counter of A.R. Tyms’ butchers in the Strand shopping centre.
CCTV footage later showed him being led away by Venables and Thompson, who took him more than two miles across Liverpool to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.
The boys were seen by 38 people during their walk across the city, but they claimed Bulger was their younger brother or that he was lost, and they were taking him to a police station.
Venables and Thompson led him to the disused railway station, near Walton Lane police station, where they murdered him and placed his body across a track.
A pathologist found he had 42 injuries, and that it was impossible to rule which one killed him.
A police officer remembered Venables being so small that his legs did not touch the floor as he sat in the custody office after his arrest.
The dock floor at Preston Crown Court where the boys stood trial had to be raised 18 inches so each boy could see over it.
The boys were ordered to be detained ‘at her majesty’s pleasure’ after being found guilty of murder.
But a six-month review by the parole board in 2001 found they were no longer a threat to public safety and they were released on life licence after serving just eight years.
Both were banned from ever returning to Liverpool and given new identities, reportedly costing £1.5million.
In February 1993, the toddler was snatched from his mother at New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside, after she took her eyes off him for a matter of seconds
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 1999 that the adult court venue and surrounding publicity made it impossible for them to receive a fair trial.
They were awarded costs and expenses of £29,000 to Venables and £15,000 to Thompson.
The father of murdered toddler James spoke of the ‘mental torture’ he experiences every day after the Parole Board decision to keep Venables in prison.
Speaking on TalkTV, Ralph said: ‘I’m glad he’s being kept in. The public’s a bit more safe for two years. It’s a bit of a result.
‘It’s just two years of not having to worry about him. He knows how to lie to them. He was taught to lie, to hide this identity, so he knows what he’s doing.’
Kym Morris, spokeswoman and chairwoman of the James Bulger’s Memorial Trust for James’ mother Denise Fergus, said: ‘This is the day Denise has waited for years.
‘The prospect of him coming out was terrifying as we knew he’d harm again. This is a day we celebrate and we thank the parole board for making the correct decision.’
James’ father and uncle Jimmy Bulger added in a joint statement that they were ‘relieved at the decision’.