The Government has ruled out raising the age of criminal responsibility after the Children's Commissioner argued the killers of James Bulger were too young to have been prosecuted for murder.
Maggie Atkinson, the Children's Commissioner for England, said children under the age of 12 who committed crimes were too young to understand the full consequences of their actions.
She told The Times that under 12s should not be prosecuted for any crime and called for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised from 10 to 12 years old.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "We are committed to tackling crime, and in particular intervening early with young people to prevent crime and antisocial behaviour.
"We believe that children aged 10 and over can differentiate between bad behaviour and serious wrongdoing. We do not intend to raise the age of criminal responsibility. It is not in the interests of justice, of victims, or the young people themselves, to prevent serious offending being challenged.
"Custody for under-18s is always a last resort and is only used for the most serious, persistent and violent offenders.
"Only 3% of young offenders who admit or are convicted of an offence receive a custodial sentence and the Government has expanded the range and intensity of community sentences available for young people, as an alternative to detention."
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