James Bulger's mother furious over 'unpleasant' remark by Govt official

James Bulger

The mother of James Bulger has called for Children's Commissioner Maggie Atkinson to be sacked after she described the toddler's killing as "unpleasant".

Denis Fergus expressed outrage that Dr Atkinson dismissed her son's murder as "exceptionally unpleasant" and demanded an apology.

In a newspaper interview Dr Atkinson said that "even the most hardened of youngsters who have committed some very difficult crimes are not beyond being frightened.

"In terms of knowing what the full consequences of your actions are, you are into older childhood or adolescence."

She said that the age of ciminal responsibility in the UK should be raised to twelve and it was also wrong that Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, aged 10, had been tried in an adult court after they abducted, tortured and murdered James, aged two, on Merseyside, in February 1993.

"What they did was exceptionally unpleasant and the fact that a little boy ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget, but they shouldn't have been tried in an adult court because they were still children," she said.

Mother-of-three Denise, 42, said: "To describe the murder of James as 'unpleasant' is an insult to his memory, and a downright lie.

"What they did to James was completely inhuman and to try to say it was 'unpleasant' is outrageous. To say that James 'ended up dead' is callous and almost makes it sound like an accident. I am furious about the way she has described his murder."

Thompson and Venables were convicted of murder at Preston Crown Court and spent seven years and eight months in custody before being paroled in 2001, with new anonymous identities.

Denise, of Kirkby, Merseyside, added: "What about James? Dr Atkinson's first duty should be to stand up for innocent little children who are murdered by evil monsters - whatever their age - who set out to commit premeditated murder.

"This woman owes James and me an apology for her twisted and insensitive comments. Then she should resign or be sacked.

"To say that his killers should not have been tried in an adult court is stupid. They committed an adult crime. A cold-blooded murder that was planned and premeditated and they were tried accordingly.

"The two who abducted, tortured and murdered James knew exactly what they were doing and they have never shown a shred of remorse for what they did - only self pity at being caught and prosecuted.

"It is a shock to people like Dr Atkinson that children can be truly evil by the age of 10. But it is a fact and I fear there will be more of them and we need the laws to be tightened-up are so we can deal with them.

"The European Court meddled in the case and because of that they were paroled too soon, against the wishes of the Government and the public who deserve to be protected by the law.

"This case has been mishandled from the start and it is wrong that it is now being turned into an issue for public debate."

Denise also stressed that Dr Atkinson was factually incorrect in saying that James's killers should have taken "programmes" to turn their lives around rather than being "jailed".

Added Denise: "This woman should get her facts right before she shouts her mouth off. They never spent a day in jail. They were sent to children's homes where they were given kid glove treatment, computer games and the best of everything. They were rewarded for murder and left thinking they had got away with it.

"But by the age of ten they were already evil and I do not believe that they have changed their ways.

"I so believe in the possibility of rehabilitation. But for it to have a chance of working the offender first needs to face proper punishment for the crime and that is exactly what Thompson and Venables never had.

"We need to be more strict in the way we deal with children who kill or commit murder or serious violent crimes. Letting them off until the age of twelve will achieve nothing.

"The fact that Venables has been accused of breaching his parole shows that all the programmes he was put on did not change him inside. He should have been punished and perhaps now that will happen."

Venables was re-arrested on 23rd February on suspicion of breaching his parole and police are investigating "serious allegations" against him that could lead to him being put on trial under his new

The age of criminal responsibility in many European countries ranges between 14 and 16, but in England, Wales and Northern Ireland remains at 10. In Scotland, the age is currently eight, but legislation is being passed to raise it to 12.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "We do not intend to raise the age of criminal responsibility. It is not in the interests of justice, of victims or the young people themselves to prevent serious offending being challenged.

"Custody for under-18s is always a last resort and is only used for the most serious, persistent and violent offenders.

"Only three per cent of young offenders who admit or are convicted of an offence receive a custodial sentence and the government has expanded the range and intensity of community sentences available for young people, as an alternative to detention."

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