James Bulger’s brother speaks out on 30 year anniversary of his murder
The brother of James Bulger has spoken out 30 years after his death to condemn the toddler's killers.
On 12 February, 1993, two-year-old James Bulger was murdered by 10-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson.
They had abducted James from the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, his body was found two days later on a railway line.
His killers had placed him on in the hopes of disguising his murder as being struck by a train, but an investigation determined that James had been murdered by being beaten to death with bricks and a metal bar.
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The killers spent eight years in prison and in 2001, they were released on bail with new identities. But Venables was imprisoned in 2010 and again in 2017 for possession of images showing child sexual abuse and is now seeking parole.
Michael Fergus was born eight months after his brother's death, meaning he never got to meet his older brother, and believes Venables should never be released from prison.
Speaking to the Sunday Express, Michael said he couldn't forgive the men who had murdered his brother and urged justice secretary Dominic Raab to keep Venables in prison for the rest of his life.
He said: "My brother's killers will never be forgiven. They took away my older brother who I never got to meet.
"I would have loved to have looked up to him, asked him questions, talked to him about exams, cars, going to bars, normal stuff."
"But because of those two I never got the chance. They robbed me of my childhood, in a nutshell. For me personally, getting justice for James and keeping Venables behind bars would be more about giving us and particularly my mum peace of mind."
Michael said it would be 'so fitting' for his brother to get justice 30 years on from his murder and went on to say if it happened 'my mum will have a smile on her face that will never stop'.
He added that looks at pictures of his older brother for inspiration and he hopes James would have been proud of him.
Michael and James's mother Denise had earlier said she would be using the day to remember her son as he was.
She told the Daily Mirror: "I will be paying my respects at James’s resting place with Stuart, my sons and close family.
"The day will be spent not thinking about what happened so tragically, but remembering our beautiful little James running around the house constantly giggling and dancing, which he loved to do."
Joe Harker