JON VENABLES FACES FRESH PAROLE HEARING AS JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY PUSHES FOR PUBLIC SCRUTINY

More than three decades after the murder of two-year-old James Bulger, his family is once again facing the prospect of a parole hearing for one of his killers.

Jon Venables is set to face another parole review after his previous bid for release was rejected in 2023.

But this time, James Bulger’s family is seeking something different — they want the hearing to be held in public.

The Parole Board confirmed in August 2026 that it had received an application from Denise and Stuart Fergus, James’s mother and stepfather, asking for the hearing to be opened to public scrutiny.

A CASE THAT STILL HAUNTS JAMES’S FAMILY

James Bulger was just two years old when he was abducted from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993.

Venables and Robert Thompson, both aged 10 at the time, were convicted of James’s murder later that year.

The case shocked Britain and has remained one of the country’s most notorious child murder cases.

More than 30 years later, the legal process surrounding Venables continues to reopen painful memories for James’s family.

When Venables’s latest parole hearing was announced in January 2026, ITV reported that the family had been informed and that the hearing was expected to take place more than two years after his previous unsuccessful bid.

HIS LAST PAROLE BID WAS REJECTED

Venables was released on licence in 2001 after serving his minimum period in custody.

He was later returned to prison in 2010 after being convicted of offences involving indecent images of children. He was released again in 2013 before being recalled to prison in 2017 for further offences of the same nature.

His 2023 parole bid was rejected.

The Parole Board concluded at the time that releasing him would not be safe, with the panel finding that he remained a risk to children and could potentially offend again.

Now, after another period in custody, his case is once again before the Parole Board.

JAMES’S FAMILY WANTS THE PROCESS SEEN

The request for a public hearing argues that the case has an exceptional level of public interest and that greater transparency could improve understanding of how parole decisions are made.

According to the Parole Board, Denise and Stuart Fergus argue that a public hearing could help address misinformation surrounding the case and allow the public to better understand how risk is assessed and managed.

They also argue that public scrutiny could strengthen confidence in the parole system and allow justice to be both “done and seen to be done.”

A separate application was also submitted on behalf of James’s father Ralph Bulger