The father of James Bulger, the two-year-old abducted from a shopping centre and murdered by two 10-year-old boys, has made an impassioned plea to a parole board speaking of his depression and post-traumatic stress.
Jon Venables and Robert Thompson tortured and killed James Bulger and were sentenced to secure detention for murder in 1993 following a trial at Preston crown court.
They led the toddler several miles from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, to a railway line in Walton, where they tortured and killed him. Both Venables and Thompson were released with new identities in 2001 after they'd served eight years.
But Venables was jailed for two years last July after pleading guilty to downloading and distributing indecent images of children.
It was also revealed that he had sex with a woman carer at the secure unit where he was held as a teenager. A parole board is now considering whether to free him again.
James' father, Ralph Bulger, said he was angry that Venables was released 10 years ago, and told the parole board that he had been 'transformed' as a person as a result of what he had gone through and suffered daily.
Speaking outside Liverpool crown court on his behalf, Bulger's solicitor, Robin Makin, said: "Ten years ago this month, in June 2001 a decision was made by the parole board to release Jon Venables.
"At that time we very much wanted to make all possible representations to the parole board. They refused to allow us to do so. We submitted a lot of material to them.
"Quite astonishingly the parole board have no records of what happened 10 years ago. And the ministry of justice don't seem to have been able to have located any of those papers. So we have had to start again."
He said it has been a very stressful time for Ralph.
"He has unfortunately suffered some depression, intrusive thoughts, nightmares, sleep problems and post-traumatic stress.
"The authorities have not provided any support or help to deal with those issues over the years.
"We explained to the parole board about how Ralph had been affected when James was abducted.
"The whole process has transformed him into someone he doesn't really want to be. Whereas Jon Venables … in a sense what they have been trying to do is transform him into somebody he really isn't," Makin said.
The parole hearing is ongoing at Leeds crown court. Bulger gave evidence to the court this morning via videolink.