JON VENABLES FACES ANOTHER PAROLE HEARING — MORE THAN 30 YEARS AFTER JAMES BULGER’S MURDER

More than three decades after two 10-year-old boys abducted and murdered two-year-old James Bulger, one of them is once again at the center of a parole battle.

Jon Venables, now 43, is due to face another Parole Board hearing in 2026, more than two years after his previous bid for freedom was rejected.

For James Bulger’s family, the latest hearing has reopened a chapter of unimaginable trauma that they have been forced to revisit repeatedly.

And this time, the process has become another legal battle over who should be allowed to attend and what the public should be allowed to see.

THE CRIME THAT SHOCKED BRITAIN

James Bulger was just two years old when he disappeared from the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside, on February 12, 1993.

Venables and Robert Thompson, both aged 10 at the time, led the toddler away from the shopping centre.

James was later found on a railway line in Walton, Liverpool.

The case became one of the most notorious child-killing cases in modern British history.

Venables and Thompson were convicted of abduction and murder and were sentenced to detention during His Majesty’s pleasure.

Their identities have been protected by lifelong anonymity orders because they were children when the crimes were committed.

VENABLES HAS ALREADY BEEN RELEASED — AND RECALLED TWICE

Venables was released on licence in July 2001, after serving the minimum term set for his detention.

But his freedom did not last indefinitely.

He was recalled to prison in February 2010 after indecent images of children were found on a computer.

He was released again in August 2013.

Four years later, in November 2017, he was recalled to custody again after further child sexual-abuse material was discovered.

He was subsequently sentenced to prison.

The repeated recalls became a major part of the debate surrounding whether he could ever safely be released again.

THE 2023 PAROLE REJECTION

Venables previously appeared before the Parole Board in 2023.

The panel rejected his application for release, concluding that it was not satisfied that releasing him at that point would be safe for the protection of the public.

That decision meant he remained behind bars.

But parole can be reconsidered, and in January 2026 it was announced that Venables would have another oral hearing.

The new hearing is expected to examine his current risk, his progress in custody and whether release could now be safely managed.

No final decision on release has been announced.

JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY FACES THE PROCESS AGAIN

The latest parole process has been particularly painful for James’s mother, Denise Fergus, who has repeatedly spoken about the lasting impact of her son’s murder.

When the new hearing was announced, her spokesperson said the process once again forced Fergus to confront the trauma surrounding James’s death.

Fergus was granted permission to observe the hearing.

James’s father, Ralph Bulger, has also sought involvement in the proceedings.

But the question of public access has become an even bigger issue.

A FIGHT OVER WHETHER THE HEARING SHOULD BE PUBLIC

In August 2026, the Parole Board confirmed that it had received applications seeking to have Venables’s oral hearing heard in public.

One application came from Denise and Stuart Fergus.

They argued that the exceptional public interest surrounding the case, Venables’s later offending and the continuing public discussion made transparency particularly important.

They also argued that a public hearing could improve understanding of how parole decisions are made and help address misinformation surrounding the case.

A separate application was submitted by legal representatives for Jimmy and Ralph Bulger.

The Parole Board confirmed that both applications were being considered.

However, an application for a public hearing does not automatically mean the hearing will be opened to the public.

Parole hearings are normally private, and a previous request to make Venables’s 2023 hearing public was rejected.

ANOTHER LEGAL BATTLE

The latest proceedings have also been complicated by a legal challenge concerning the participation of James’s parents.

Reports in July said Venables was challenging their involvement in the parole process, creating further delays and adding another layer of distress for the family.

For James’s parents, however, the argument is about more than simply attending a hearing.

It is about being able to understand how decisions concerning one of their son’s killers are being made — more than 30 years after James was taken from them.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The Parole Board must determine whether Venables can safely be released into the community under licence.

That does not mean his conviction is being reconsidered.

The original conviction remains in place.

Instead, the question is whether the risk he poses can now be safely managed outside prison.

His previous parole applications have demonstrated just how closely his history will continue to be examined.

The 2026 hearing therefore represents another critical moment in a case that has remained in the public consciousness for more than three decades.

For James Bulger’s family, however, it is not simply another parole hearing.

It is another reminder of the little boy whose life ended in 1993 — and of a legal process they have been forced to revisit again and again.

More than 30 years later, the question surrounding Jon Venables is once again the same: can he ever be considered safe to return to the community?

For now, that decision rests with the Parole Board.