“JUSTICE, AT LAST.” — DENISE FERGUS’ EMOTIONAL FIGHT FOR JAMES

More than 30 years after her two-year-old son James Bulger was taken from her, Denise Fergus is once again being forced to confront the painful parole process surrounding one of his killers.

Jon Venables, now 43, is due to face another oral parole hearing in 2026, more than two years after his previous bid for freedom was rejected.

For Denise, however, this is not simply another legal proceeding.

It is another chapter in a nightmare that began in February 1993 — and one she says she has never truly been able to leave behind.

A MOTHER WHO HAS NEVER STOPPED FIGHTING

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

Venables and Robert Thompson were both 10 years old when they took James.

The case shocked Britain and attracted worldwide attention.

Decades later, Denise continues to speak publicly about the impact of what happened to her son and her concerns about Venables potentially being released.

She has described the parole process as mentally draining, but says she feels she has to take part.

“I’ve been living a life of a nightmare,” Denise said in an interview with ITV.

For her, appearing in the process is not about reopening the past by choice.

It is about making sure James is not forgotten.

THE 2026 PAROLE HEARING

Venables’ latest parole application is the first oral hearing since his previous bid was rejected in 2023.

That earlier panel concluded that he continued to pose a danger to children and could go on to offend again.

The new hearing will consider whether his risk can now be safely managed.

No decision to release him has been announced.

And there is another important detail: Denise has been granted permission to observe the hearing.

Victims and their families have been able to attend private parole hearings under reforms introduced nationally in 2026, although the proceedings remain subject to strict privacy protections.

For Denise, being allowed to attend means she can once again hear the arguments surrounding the future of one of James’ killers.

VENABLES’ HISTORY AFTER HIS RELEASE

Venables was released on licence in July 2001 alongside Thompson, after serving eight years in secure accommodation.

He was given a new identity and placed under strict licence conditions.

But in 2010, Venables was recalled to prison after indecent images of children were discovered on his computer.

He was eventually released again in 2013.

Then, in 2017, he was recalled for a second time after further indecent images of children were found.

Those later offences have become a central part of the debate surrounding his suitability for release.

For Denise, they are evidence that the concerns surrounding his rehabilitation cannot simply be dismissed.

“I’VE GOT TO STAND UP AND START FIGHTING AGAIN”

In January 2026, Denise called for changes to the law that would prevent offenders who repeatedly breach licence conditions from receiving further opportunities for parole.

She questioned why Venables had been able to return to the community after previous breaches.

Her frustration is rooted in what she sees as a fundamental imbalance.

Venables has been protected by anonymity throughout his adult life.

Denise, meanwhile, has continued to live publicly with the consequences of James’ murder.

As she put it, she feels that he can know things about her and her family while she knows very little about him.

That imbalance, she says, makes the parole process even harder.

JAMES NEVER GOT THE CHANCE TO GROW UP

For Denise, the years that have passed do not erase what was lost.

James never went to his first day of school.

He never grew into a teenager.

He never became an adult.

In an earlier interview, Denise explained that she still remembers James as the little boy he was, while watching her other children grow up.

“There’s always that one missing,” she said.

That absence remains at the centre of her life.

And every parole hearing brings the past back into the present.

DENISE’S FEAR OF ANOTHER RELEASE

Denise has made clear that she does not believe Venables should be released.

She has said she fears that another release could put children at risk.

“I hope he never sees the light of day again,” she said, adding that she fears another case like James could happen if he were released.

Those are Denise’s views, not a finding of the Parole Board.

The board’s task is different.

It must assess the evidence surrounding Venables’ current risk and determine whether release can be safely managed under licence.

A CASE THAT NEVER REALLY ENDED

More than three decades have passed since James was taken from his mother.

Yet for Denise Fergus, the story has never had a true ending.

There have been convictions.

There have been releases.

There have been recalls.

There have been repeated parole hearings.

And now there is another.

The latest proceedings will determine what happens next for Jon Venables.

But for Denise, the question is much deeper.

It is about the son she lost, the years he never got to live and the promise she has continued to carry for more than three decades.

James was only two when his life was taken from him.

His mother has spent more than 30 years making sure the world remembers his name.

And as Jon Venables faces another parole hearing, Denise Fergus is once again preparing to speak — for herself, for her family, and above all, for James.