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

More than three decades after the murder of two-year-old James Bulger, his family is once again facing the prospect of Jon Venables appearing before the Parole Board as he seeks a possible release from prison.

Venables, who was 10 years old when he and Robert Thompson murdered James in 1993, is subject to a fresh parole review more than two years after his previous attempt to secure release was rejected.

This time, however, James’s family is also seeking greater transparency over the process.

JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY APPLIES FOR A PUBLIC HEARING

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 Venables’ parole hearing to be held in public.

Their application argues that the case is of significant public interest and that allowing the proceedings to be observed could improve public understanding of how parole decisions are made.

The family also argues that greater transparency could help address misinformation surrounding the case and allow victims and the public to better understand how issues such as risk assessment, supervision and public protection are considered.

A separate application was also submitted on behalf of James’s father, Ralph Bulger, and uncle Jimmy Bulger.

That application similarly argues that the case raises significant questions about parole, public protection, anonymity and the management of risk following Venables’ later offending.

THE PUBLIC HEARING HAS NOT YET BEEN APPROVED

Despite calls for transparency, the Parole Board has not yet confirmed that the hearing will be public.

Under current rules, parole hearings normally take place in private. A public hearing can be authorised where the Parole Board considers that doing so would be in the interests of justice.

The Board can also decide that certain parts of a hearing should remain private, particularly where sensitive evidence or personal information is discussed.

In Venables’ case, representations have been invited before a decision is made on the applications for a public hearing.

VENABLES’ PREVIOUS PAROLE BID WAS REJECTED

Venables’ previous parole review ended in 2023, when a panel refused his application for release.

The Parole Board said it was not satisfied that releasing him at that stage would be safe for public protection. The panel also identified concerns surrounding risk and his relationship with probation professionals.

Venables was first released on licence in 2001.

He was later recalled to prison in 2010 after being convicted of possessing indecent images of children. He was released again in 2013 before being recalled in 2017 following another conviction involving indecent images of children.

His latest parole review therefore comes after years of continued imprisonment and previous parole proceedings.

THE CASE THAT SHOCKED BRITAIN

James Bulger was two years old when he was abducted from the Strand shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, on February 12, 1993.

CCTV footage captured Venables and Thompson walking away from the shopping centre with the toddler.

The two boys were later convicted of James’s murder and became the youngest people to be convicted of murder in England and Wales.

The case has remained one of the most closely followed criminal cases in Britain, with James’s family continuing to campaign for answers and greater transparency surrounding decisions concerning Venables.

ANONYMITY PROTECTIONS REMAIN IN PLACE

Venables remains protected by longstanding anonymity arrangements because he was a child when the crime was committed.

Those protections would not automatically disappear if his parole hearing were eventually opened to public observation.

The Parole Board’s own documents state that safeguards could be used to protect anonymity and confidential information, including private sessions where necessary.

That means a public hearing would not necessarily mean that Venables’ current identity or location could be publicly disclosed.

A NEW CHAPTER FOR JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY

For Denise Fergus and other members of James’s family, the latest parole proceedings reopen a painful chapter that has followed them for more than 30 years.

The family’s request is now focused not only on the question of whether Venables should be released, but also on whether the decision-making process surrounding the case should be subject to greater public scrutiny.

For now, the Parole Board must first decide whether the hearing itself should be opened to the public.

Any decision on Venables’ release will come separately through the parole process.

The outcome of the public-hearing application could determine how much of that process can be observed by the wider public.