Howard: acted unlawfully

Howard's reaction to the Ruling

Law Lords Rule Bulger Killers' Sentence Illegal

In two majority rulings, five Law Lords dismissed Mr Howard's appeal against an earlier ruling that he acted unfairly in increasing the minimum sentence the boys should serve from eight years to 15 years.

Lords: Majority decision

BBC correspondent Guto Hari looks at the background

The Law Lords also allowed a cross-appeal by lawyers representing Jon Venables and Robert Thompson against a decision that the Home Secretary had the power to increase the sentences.

Arguments over how long the two Merseyside boys should serve in jail are now expected to begin again.

Venables and Thompson were 10-years-old when they murdered James and left his body on a railway line in Bootle, Merseyside. They were convicted in 1993 at Preston Crown Court and are being held at young offenders' institutions. The judge at their trial said they should be detained for a minimum of eight years and the former Lord Chief Justice Lord Taylor later recommended 10 years.

Mr Howard increased that to 15 years, amid much controversy, with the boys' lawyers saying he had "departed from standards of fairness" and wrongly taken public opinion into account.

They argued that Mr Howard was wrong to interfere with the sentences, and the Court of Appeal backed them - leading to that ruling being challenged in the House of Lords.

A Home Office spokesman said the Home Secretary was still studying the Lords' judgment, which did not affect the legality of holding the two boys at the moment. He said a full statement was expected later and said: "This was undoubtedly a most dreadful murder which caused shock and revulsion throughout the country.

"The House of Lords judgment is lengthy and detailed. It has only just been received. It will need to be considered very carefully before reaching conclusions on the particular cases and the more general issues covered in the judgment. The judgment does not affect the legality of the continued detention of the two boys."

The spokesman said the boys were being held in separate secure children's homes where they have been since their convictions. He added: "The Home Secretary has a responsibility given by Parliament for deciding when the case of any murderer is first referred to the parole board. That remains the responsibility of the Home Secretary."