James Bulger's dad has slammed the decision to provide his son's killer - Jon Venables - with £260,000 in financial aid to help him fight a string of legal battles.
Ralph Bulger opened up about the payout, pointing out that his family received nothing to help their efforts to keep Venables and his accomplice, Robert Thompson, in jail.
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The lump sum was reportedly for civil claims, judicial reviews, and requests for new identities. And the true figure handed to 35-year-old Venables - who was recently jailed again for a collection of child abuse images found on his computer - could be even higher as it does not include his original trial or most recent indecent images charge.
The original trial refers to the murder case, which remains one of the most infamous in UK history. Venables and Thompson were both just ten years old when they murdered James, two.
In an interview with The Mirror, Ralph said: "It's a disgrace to pay this to Venables from the public purse. He is a sexual predator and child killer who got all this money and yet I have consistently been denied legal aid over the years trying to keep him locked up and away from the public.
"I have always said that the killers have been treated better than us and this proves my point beyond any doubt. It's a real insult to James' memory to continue to protect his killer in this way."
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Venables was recently jailed for 40 months after pleading guilty to possessing 1,000 indecent child abuse images on his laptop. Reports claim that if the legal aid for this case - in addition to the previous murder trial - were taken into account, the sum would be way over the £260,000 mark.
According to a Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Justice, Venables initially received almost £180,000 to challenge his 15-year murder sentence (later reduced to eight).
Meanwhile, other payouts include £250,000 towards applications for new identities, as well as two judicial reviews that cost more than £22,000.
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"I don't argue with the right for justice, but in our case it has been a one-way street.
All this legal aid for Venables and nothing for us. It's just a joke but it's sickening for me and my family," added Ralph.
"But it comes as no surprise. We have been treated as though we didn't count from day one. The system is messed up and needs to change."
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: james bulger, UK News, News, jon venables