Jon Venables, one of James Bulger’s killers, will not be released from prison, the Parole Board has said.
The decision to reject his bid for parole was made by a panel following a two-day hearing held behind closed doors.
“The panel was not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public,” the Parole Board said.
The now 41-year-old was jailed alongside Robert Thompson in 1993 for the murder of the two-year-old, when they were both aged 10.
The pair were given life sentences but were released on licence with new identities in 2001.
Venables, now 41, was sent back to jail in 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer and served another three years before being recalled again in 2017 for the same offence.
Caroline Corby, the chair of the Parole Board for England and Wales, had ruled proceedings should take place in private because of a long-standing legal order that bans the public identification of Venables.
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James’s family were barred from attending, although victim impact statements were considered.
The toddler was snatched from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, on 12 February 1993.
His body was found on a railway line after he had been beaten to death with bricks and a metal bar.
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