JON VENABLES FACES NEW PAROLE HEARING — JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY DEMANDS GREATER TRANSPARENCY

More than three decades after the murder of two-year-old James Bulger, the case of Jon Venables is once again before the Parole Board — reopening one of the most painful chapters in Britain’s criminal justice history.

Venables, now 43, is due to have his latest parole bid considered after his previous attempt was rejected in 2023.

But this time, James Bulger’s family is seeking something different: a public hearing.

A NEW PAROLE REVIEW

The Parole Board confirmed in August 2026 that it had received an application from Denise and Stuart Fergus, James Bulger’s family, asking for Venables’ upcoming oral hearing to be held in public.

A separate application was also submitted by legal representatives for James’s father, Ralph Bulger, and Ralph and Denise’s family.

The applications argue that the extraordinary public interest in the case makes greater transparency important.

They also point to Venables’ later convictions and previous recalls to custody as factors that make the case particularly significant.

The Parole Board has not yet confirmed that the hearing itself will be public.

THE CASE THAT SHOCKED BRITAIN

Venables and Robert Thompson were both 10 years old when they abducted James from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, on February 12, 1993.

The two boys were subsequently convicted of James’s murder.

The case became one of the most widely known criminal cases in modern British history, partly because of the extraordinary age of those responsible.

Venables and Thompson were released on licence in 2001 after receiving new identities and lifelong anonymity protections.

 VENABLES WAS LATER RECALLED TO PRISON

Venables’ release did not mark the end of his involvement with the criminal justice system.

He was recalled to prison in 2010 after being convicted of possessing indecent images of children.

He was released again in 2013 but was recalled for a second time in 2017 after another conviction involving indecent images of children.

His subsequent parole reviews have therefore attracted intense scrutiny.

In 2023, the Parole Board rejected his bid for release, finding that he continued to pose a risk of further offending.

WHY THE FAMILY WANTS THE HEARING OPEN

According to the application published by the Parole Board, Denise and Stuart Fergus argue that a public hearing could help the public understand how parole decisions are made and counter misinformation surrounding the case.

They also say the process has repeatedly forced the family to confront the trauma surrounding James’s murder.

The application argues that public scrutiny could allow people to see how evidence, professional assessments, risk management and release arrangements are examined.

Ralph Bulger’s legal representatives have made a similar request, arguing that the case raises wider questions about public protection, anonymity and the management of offenders after release.

 DENISE FERGUS MAY BE ABLE TO WATCH

Under reforms allowing victims and their representatives greater participation in parole proceedings, Denise Fergus has been granted permission to observe the hearing if it remains private.

The possibility of watching the process is significant for a family that has spent more than 30 years living with the consequences of James’s murder.

ITV reported in January that Venables’ latest parole case was expected to be heard more than two years after his previous unsuccessful bid.

 WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The Parole Board still has to determine whether the hearing should be opened to the public.

Normally, parole hearings are held privately, although the rules allow public hearings in exceptional circumstances where the interests of justice require it.

Whatever decision is eventually made, the latest parole review means the name Jon Venables is once again at the centre of a national debate surrounding justice, rehabilitation, public protection and the rights of victims’ families.

For Denise Fergus and the rest of James Bulger’s family, however, this is not simply another legal proceeding.

It is another moment in a process that has followed them for more than three decades — and another reminder of the little boy whose name remains at the heart of the case.

James Bulger was only two years old when his life was taken. More than 30 years later, his family is still being asked to revisit the same painful chapter.