30+ YEARS LATER — JON VENABLES FACES A NEW PAROLE BATTLE AS FAMILIES PUSH FOR A PUBLIC HEARING

THE MAN AT THE CENTER OF THE JAMES BULGER CASE IS AGAIN UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT — BUT THIS TIME, THE BATTLE IS OVER HOW MUCH OF HIS PAROLE PROCESS THE PUBLIC SHOULD SEE.

More than three decades after two-year-old James Bulger was abducted and killed in one of Britain’s most notorious cases, Jon Venables is once again at the center of a major parole controversy.

The latest development is not a decision to release him.

Instead, the Parole Board has received two separate applications asking for Venables’ parole hearing to be held in public, arguing that the extraordinary history of the case makes greater transparency necessary.

TWO REQUESTS FOR ONE PUBLIC HEARING

The first application came from Denise and Stuart Fergus.

They argue that the case continues to attract enormous public interest and that a public hearing could help counter misinformation surrounding Venables and the parole process.

They also say that transparency could allow victims and those affected by the case to better understand how decisions about risk, supervision and public protection are made.

A second application was submitted by legal representatives for Jimmy Bulger and Ralph Bulger.

That application describes the case as exceptional, pointing not only to the original crime but also to Venables’ later offending, repeated returns to custody and the complicated issues surrounding anonymity, risk management and any future release arrangements.

The applicants argue that simply allowing observers to attend a private hearing would not provide the same level of transparency.

They have proposed that sensitive information could still be dealt with privately, while other parts of the proceedings could potentially be opened to public observation.

BUT THE HEARING IS NOT PUBLIC — YET

That distinction is crucial.

The applications do not mean that Venables’ parole hearing has already been opened to the public.

The Parole Board still has to consider the representations before deciding whether the hearing should be made public.

The Board’s official guidance states that parole hearings normally remain private, although public hearings can be allowed in exceptional circumstances where doing so is considered to be in the interests of justice.

In Venables’ case, representations on the applications were invited, with the later deadline falling on September 10, 2026.

A CASE THAT HAS NEVER REALLY LEFT THE PUBLIC EYE

Venables and Robert Thompson were convicted in 1993 after the abduction and killing of two-year-old James Bulger.

Both were children themselves at the time.

Their identities were protected by a lifelong injunction following their release from custody, meaning the legal restrictions surrounding Venables’ identity remain exceptionally strict.

Venables was later returned to custody on separate occasions following further offending.

His parole was rejected in 2023 after the Parole Board concluded that it was not satisfied his release would be safe for public protection.

That 2023 decision also involved an application for the parole hearing to be made public. The application was rejected by the Parole Board chair.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The latest applications put the focus back on a question that has surrounded the case for years:

Should the public be allowed to see how the parole system assesses Venables’ risk?

For those supporting a public hearing, transparency could provide answers and counter misinformation.

For the authorities, however, the case involves unusually sensitive issues surrounding anonymity, personal safety, confidential evidence and public protection.

And there is another important point:

A public-hearing decision is not the same thing as a parole decision.

Even if the hearing is eventually opened to public observation, the Parole Board would still have to separately determine whether Venables can safely be released into the community.

For now, the next major decision is whether the parole hearing itself will remain behind closed doors — or whether, more than 30 years after James Bulger’s case shocked Britain, the public will finally be allowed to see part of the process unfold.