4 minute read
James Bulger Remembered
Photo of James Bulger. Family Handout.
Photo: Ray Simpson
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Insight into crime that continues to haunt city
The uniquely tragic story of two-year-old James Bulger still haunts the city of Liverpool. ZOE WHEELER attended the insightful account.
Merseyside Police Press Officer Ray Simpson reflects back to his time working the case, 29 years on since James was killed.
February 12, 1993 James Bulger was out shopping with his mother in Bootle Strand Shopping Centre when he was led away by two ten-year-old boys.
This week, Ray Simpson visited Liverpool John Moores University to re-tell his experiences.
Ray recalled travelling into work that morning listening to Pete Price “sobbing into the microphone” on the radio saying, “that baby, that poor little baby.” He said: “I hadn’t got a clue what he was talking about.”
He added: “I then went into the press office, and it was absolute mayhem. The phones were just ringing constantly. You put one down and another call came.”
As far as Ray was concerned it was just another missing child story, until it wasn’t. He said: “All it was a report of a missing child that was it. An officer was sent out to take the report and during that time there were dozens of such reports received daily for missing children.”
He added: “So it was no big deal as far as we were concerned it was just a normal general missing from home case normally found within a couple of hours.”
An officer was sent out to review the 16 CCTV cameras in the shopping centre. It was then it was revealed James had been taken.
He said: “Then shows him walking away holding the hand of one boy.” “I think that’s the picture everyone remembers”
He added: “I think the thing that made this case unique, was the video. And the fact of the age of the two boys being ten. That video, every parent could relate to it. And that’s what made it stick that’s what made it the case it is, and I don’t think, well it’s 30 years next year, and I have no doubt it will all come out again.”
As the details of the brutal killings came to light, the whole world was watching Liverpool. Press from around the world travelled to gather more information.
The police interviews with the two young killers, reveals a story the people of Liverpool know all too well.
Anger grew around the city as it was revealed the children’s identities would not be made public.
Despite calls for their lifetime anonymity to be lifted, this is something Ray strongly disagrees with. He said: “One has kept his nose clean, kept out of trouble. I think if you released who he was you would have to fear for his safety you really would because somebody out there would try and get him, and they would and I think they would kill him even now.”
He added: “It will never go away you can’t upset people from Liverpool they don’t forget easily.”
Ray has a unique look into the case and often had to deal with troubling and upsetting aspects of the job.
In order to fulfil the family’s wish of a private funeral, Ray had to organise the press and went to great lengths to keep it under control.
He issued passes to the press and recalled media organisations had hired houses opposite the Church where the funeral was held to get the best shots.
He said: “We’d heard as well that they were going to try and fly aircrafts over the funeral, so we had to apply for a no-fly zone over the area itself. Despite that two organisations breached it.”
Around 500 people gathered outside the Church to witness James’ funeral which Ray found especially touching.
He said: ““I think the funeral upset me the most. I never I never actually went to the scene to see the body I saw the photographs, but I didn’t see the body, so I think the funeral was the most upsetting and disturbing for me. It was all the people that got to me.”
Although Ray found the case upsetting, he said it hasn’t altered the way he did his job. He said: “We did make mistakes. We were bound to. You can’t not make mistakes in a job like this.”
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