JON VENABLES TO FACE PRIVATE PAROLE HEARING NEARLY THREE DECADES AFTER JAMES BULGER’S MURDER

Jon Venables is set to face a new parole hearing nearly three decades after the murder of two-year-old James Bulger, but the hearing will take place in private after the Parole Board rejected a request for public access.

The decision was announced on September 28, 2026, following applications from James Bulger’s mother, Denise Fergus, and several media organisations seeking a public hearing.

The Parole Board said the legal threshold for making a hearing public had not been met.

JAMES BULGER’S MOTHER WANTED A PUBLIC HEARING

Denise Fergus had argued that allowing the public to observe the proceedings could help address misinformation surrounding the case and give people a better understanding of how parole decisions are made.

In her application, Fergus said continuing public discussion and misinformation about the case had had a retraumatising effect on her.

The application also argued that greater transparency could allow victims and the wider public to better understand how the Parole Board assesses risk and makes decisions about release.

A separate application was made on behalf of James’s father, Ralph Bulger, and argued that the exceptional circumstances of the case justified greater public scrutiny.

However, the Parole Board ultimately refused the request.

WHY THE HEARING WILL REMAIN PRIVATE

Parole hearings are normally held privately, although the law allows them to be opened to the public when the Board considers that doing so would be in the interests of justice.

In its decision, the Board said a public hearing could make it very difficult for Venables to give evidence because people seeking information that could be used to harm him might be listening.

John Saunders, the judicial Parole Board member who made the decision, said the high threshold required for a public hearing had not been met.

The decision does not mean that James Bulger’s family will be completely excluded from the process.

Under reforms introduced nationally in April 2026, victims can attend private parole hearings as observers. A representative for Denise Fergus has previously confirmed that her application to observe the hearing was granted.

VENABLES REMAINS IN PRISON

Venables and Robert Thompson were both 10 years old when they abducted and murdered James Bulger in Merseyside in February 1993.

Venables was released on licence in 2001 but was later recalled to prison in 2010 after being found in possession of indecent images of children.

He was released again in 2013 and recalled for a second time in 2017 following another offence involving indecent images of children.

His previous parole review in 2023 resulted in the application being rejected. At that time, the Parole Board concluded that he continued to pose a risk of further offending.

A CASE THAT CONTINUES TO ATTRACT PUBLIC ATTENTION

The latest parole proceedings come more than 30 years after James Bulger was killed.

The case remains subject to strict protections surrounding Venables’ identity and personal information.

The decision to keep the upcoming hearing private means the public will not be able to observe the proceedings directly.

For James Bulger’s family, however, the parole process remains closely connected to the loss of their two-year-old son — while authorities continue to assess whether Venables can safely be released.

The date and outcome of the latest parole hearing have not been announced publicly.