Venables and Thompson claimed that the Home Secretary had unlawfully decided not to release them from prison, after they were convicted of murder as children. The Home Secretary took into account public petitions demanding the murderer be imprisoned for life. He refused to take account of their progress and development during detention. He increased the ‘tariff period’ from 10 to 15 years to delay release, and said they should be dealt with on the same basis as adult offenders, where mandatory life sentences were imposed.