JON VENABLES FACES A FRESH PAROLE HEARING — AND JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY WANTS THE PUBLIC TO HEAR IT

MORE THAN 30 YEARS AFTER TWO-YEAR-OLD JAMES BULGER WAS MURDERED, HIS FAMILY IS FACING ANOTHER PAINFUL CHAPTER AS VENABLES SEEKS FREEDOM AGAIN

More than three decades after the murder of two-year-old James Bulger shocked Britain, his family is once again being forced to confront the possibility of Jon Venables being released from prison.

Venables, now 43, is due to face another parole hearing more than two years after his previous bid for freedom was rejected. The case has reopened painful memories for James’s family and renewed questions about whether the hearing should be kept behind closed doors.

ANOTHER BID FOR FREEDOM

Venables and Robert Thompson were both 10 years old when they were convicted of James Bulger’s murder in 1993.

The case became one of the most notorious crimes in modern British history, partly because of the extraordinarily young ages of the two offenders.

Both were eventually released on licence in 2001 under lifelong anonymity protections.

But Venables later returned to prison after breaching the conditions of his release.

He was recalled in 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer. He was released again in 2013, before being recalled once more in 2017 following another offence involving such material.

HIS LAST PAROLE BID WAS REJECTED

Venables’ previous parole application was rejected in 2023.

The Parole Board concluded at the time that releasing him was not considered safe for the protection of the public and that he remained capable of posing a danger to children.

Now, more than two years later, another hearing is being prepared.

The exact date was not initially confirmed when the new hearing was announced, but it represents another major moment for both Venables and the Bulger family.

JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY WANTS TRANSPARENCY

James’s mother, Denise Fergus, has previously spoken publicly about the devastating impact of having to repeatedly revisit the case.

In August 2026, Denise and Stuart Fergus formally applied for Venables’ parole hearing to be held in public.

The UK Parole Board confirmed that it had received their application, alongside a separate application from legal representatives for James’s father Ralph Bulger and James’s brother.

The applications argue for greater transparency and public understanding around the parole process.

For James’s family, however, the issue is far more personal.

Every new parole hearing means confronting the events of 1993 all over again.

THE FAMILY HAS ALREADY BEEN THROUGH YEARS OF PAIN

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

Venables and Thompson were later convicted of his murder.

The case stunned Britain and became a defining moment in the country’s history of child protection and criminal justice.

More than 30 years later, James remains at the centre of a debate that has never completely disappeared: how should society balance rehabilitation, public protection and the rights of victims’ families?

WHY THE HEARING MATTERS

A parole hearing does not automatically mean that Venables will be released.

The purpose of the process is to assess whether release would be safe and whether the legal conditions for parole have been met.

His previous application was rejected, meaning the latest hearing represents another assessment rather than a guaranteed path to freedom.

The possibility of a public hearing has added another layer to the story.

The Parole Board said the applications for a public hearing were received in August, with representations invited before a deadline that month.

THE QUESTIONS HAVE NOT GONE AWAY

For James Bulger’s family, the passage of time has never erased what happened.

Instead, every new development surrounding Venables brings the case back into the public spotlight.

And now, as another parole decision approaches, Britain is once again being asked to confront the difficult questions surrounding punishment, rehabilitation and public safety.

For Denise Fergus and James’s family, however, this is not simply another legal proceeding.

It is another reminder of the little boy whose life ended more than 30 years ago — and of a case that continues to cast a long shadow over the country.

As Venables faces another chance to argue for his freedom, James Bulger’s family is once again asking for transparency, accountability and answers.