Bulger killer Venables to be released on parole Venables, and Robert Thompson, were just 10 years old when they abducted, tortured and killed two year-old James in Bootle, became the youngest convicted killers in modern English history. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The re-release of life licensed offenders is directed by the independent Parole Board once they are satisfied they can be safely managed in the community. Their life licence lasts for the rest of their lives, and they may be recalled to prison at any time for breaching their licence conditions. Additionally, they will be subject to strict controls and restrictions for as long as their risk requires them. A spokesman for James's father said: "Mr Bulger and the paternal family of James Bulger are disappointed and dismayed to have been advised that the Parole Board have decide to release Jon Venables back into society. In 2011 the Parole Board determined that it was 'not safe' for Jon Venables to be released. It is not known what has changed. No reasons for the decision have been given. For Ralph and his family the living nightmare continues and is exacerbated by the problems now created by the reckless decision to free Jon Venables without any publicly disclosed safeguards. Jon Venables is a sex offender who has murdered once and made it clear when posing as the mother of a child that an 'ultimate thrill' for him was the sexual abuse of a child. The authorities have already experimented with Jon Venables living a lie and it did not work. This year marked the 20th anniversary of James's murder. Venables and classmate Thompson, who were just 10 years old at the time, abducted James from the Bootle Strand shopping centre before carrying out the murder which shocked the nation. The two boys were jailed for life but released on licence with new identities in 2001. Venables had his parole revoked in 2010 and was jailed for two years after admitting downloading and distributing indecent images of children.