The British Home Secretary is to set a new minimum jail term for the two boys who murdered the Merseyside boy, James Bulger, it was confirmed yesterday. The minimum tariff is to be set by Mr Jack Straw before their case reaches the European Court of Human Rights.
He is expected to hear representations from lawyers for Robert Thompson, Jon Venables and the Bulger family before making a final decision.
The confirmation of Mr Straw's plans came as James Bulger's family marked what would have been his ninth birthday.
A Home Office spokesman dismissed as "speculation" reports that Mr Straw is set to impose a 15-year minimum sentence, ensuring the youngsters are sent to an adult prison.
The 15-year minimum tariff set by the former Conservative home secretary, Mr Michael Howard, was thrown out by the House of Lords last year.
The Home Secretary's role in sentencing also contravened Article 6 of the Human Rights Convention, according to Monday's ruling by the European Commission of Human Rights.
James Bulger's mother vowed to fight the ruling that his killers were denied a fair trial.
Ms Denise Fergus said she would never stop battling against any moves to review the convictions: "I'll fight all the way. I'll fight until the day I die if I have to." Ms Fergus has said she is bitter that issues surrounding the trial kept on resurfacing year after year.
She said: "Give them the 15 years, let them serve the 15 years and see what happens from there, instead of trying to get them an early release all the time.
"All I've been trying to do is to rebuild my life, with a new husband, kids, trying to get on with everyday life, and it's not happening for me."
Thompson and Venables, both from Merseyside, were 10 when they abducted the two-year-old from a shopping centre in 1993. They dragged him for two miles before killing him and leaving his body on a railway track at Walton, Liverpool.
No date has been fixed for the human rights hearing, and the cases of Thompson and Venables will now be examined by a human rights court panel which will decide whether the cases will be heard by a seven-judge chamber or by the Court's Grand Chamber of 17 judges.