James Bulger's father blasts 'offensive' film about his son's killers

James Bulger was abducted and killed in Merseyside in 1993
PA Archive/PA Images
Ella Wills7 January 2019

The father of murdered toddler James Bulger has blasted a new film about his son's killing as "offensive".

Ralph Bulger has claimed the short film is too sympathetic towards his son's killers, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, and said the family was not contacted ahead of its release.

The two-year-old was killed by the pair, both aged 10, after they snatched him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993.

Detainment, which is shortlisted for an Academy Award, is 30-minute film based on interview transcripts and records from the case.

Ralph Bulger the father of James Bulger
PA Archive/PA Images

Mr Bulger told the Mirror he has been left devastated by the latest portrayal of his son's murder.

He said: “Not once has the maker of this film contacted me or any of James’s family about this film.

Jon Venables
PA

“It has been 26 years since my son was taken and murdered and so I have seen many documentaries and news stories about him.

“But I have never been so cut up and offended by something that shows so little compassion to James and his family.

Robert Thompson in 1993 
PA

“I accept this is a murder of such magnitude it will always be written about and featured in the news but to make a film so ­sympathetic to James’s killers is devastating."

Director Vincent Lambe admitted last week that he did not contact the toddler's parents for permission before releasing the film.

“Well it probably wouldn’t have been made if [Denise Fergus] said ‘no’,” he told Good Morning Britain.

He added: “A lot of people might say they feel it’s wrong to humanise them, but if people can’t accept the fact they were human beings, they would never be able to begin to understand what could have driven them to prevent such a crime."

Detainment was released last year and shown at a number of European film festivals.

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