DENISE FERGUS DEMANDS A PUBLIC HEARING AS JON VENABLES’ PAROLE REVIEW APPROACHES

More than three decades after the murder of two-year-old James Bulger, his mother Denise Fergus is once again challenging the secrecy surrounding the parole process for Jon Venables.

Denise and her husband, Stuart Fergus, have formally applied for Venables’ forthcoming parole hearing to be held in public.

WHY DOES DENISE WANT THE HEARING OPEN?

According to the application published by the Parole Board, the family argues that the exceptional public interest surrounding the case makes greater transparency appropriate.

They say a public hearing could:

Give the public a better understanding of how parole decisions are made

Allow greater scrutiny of how risk is assessed and managed

Help address misinformation surrounding the case

Give victims and their families greater confidence in the process

The application also points to Venables’ subsequent serious offending as an exceptional feature of the case.

HAS THE HEARING BEEN MADE PUBLIC?

No — not yet.

The Parole Board has received the application and is currently inviting representations before deciding whether the hearing should be held in public.

The deadline for representations is midday on August 14, 2026.

So claims that authorities have already agreed to a public showdown or that the hearing has automatically become public are premature.

WHAT ABOUT VENABLES’ ANONYMITY?

This is an important distinction.

A public parole hearing would not automatically mean that Venables’ protected identity, location or other restricted information would be revealed.

Safeguards can be considered to protect legally protected information while allowing greater transparency around the hearing itself.

 WHY THIS MATTERS TO JAMES’ FAMILY

James Bulger was only two years old when he was abducted and murdered in 1993.

Venables was later released on licence but was recalled to prison in 2010 and again in 2017 following further offending involving indecent images of children. His parole was refused in 2023 after the panel was not satisfied that release would be safe for public protection.

Now, another parole review is approaching.

For Denise Fergus, the issue is no longer simply whether the process exists.

It is whether the public should be allowed to see how that process reaches its decision.

 A NEW PUBLIC-HEARING APPLICATION.

A PAROLE DECISION STILL AHEAD.

ANONYMITY PROTECTIONS STILL IN PLACE.

 AND A FAMILY STILL SEEKING ANSWERS MORE THAN 30 YEARS LATER.

Independent commentary based on publicly reported information. The application for a public hearing has not yet been granted, and no conclusion about Venables’ parole has been reached.