JON VENABLES FACES FRESH PAROLE HEARING AS JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY PUSHES FOR PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS
JON VENABLES FACES FRESH PAROLE HEARING AS JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY PUSHES FOR PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS
Jon Venables, one of the two men convicted over the 1993 murder of toddler James Bulger, is facing another parole review more than two years after his previous bid for release was rejected.
The case has returned to the spotlight in 2026 after the Parole Board confirmed that Venables will have a fresh oral hearing.
The upcoming proceedings have also prompted James Bulger’s family to ask for the hearing to be made public, arguing that greater transparency could help people understand how parole decisions are made.
However, no date has yet been announced for the hearing, and no decision has been made on whether it will be held publicly.
WHO IS JON VENABLES?
Venables was 10 years old when he and Robert Thompson abducted two-year-old James Bulger from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, on February 12, 1993.
The two boys were subsequently convicted of James’s murder.
Because they were children at the time of the crime, Venables and Thompson were initially held in secure youth accommodation before eventually being released on licence.
Venables was released in July 2001 under a new identity.
A lifelong anonymity order remains in place preventing publication of his current identity.
VENABLES HAS BEEN RECALLED TO PRISON TWICE
His release did not mark the end of his involvement with the criminal justice system.
In 2010, Venables was recalled to prison after being found in possession of indecent images of children.
He was released again in 2013.
In 2017, he was recalled once more after another offence involving indecent images of children.
He has remained in custody since that recall.
HIS LAST PAROLE BID WAS REJECTED
Venables previously appeared before the Parole Board in 2023.
That application was rejected, with the board concluding that he continued to pose a risk of further offending.
More than two years later, the Parole Board is now preparing to consider his case again.
The new hearing was first reported in January 2026, when ITV News confirmed that Venables would have another oral parole hearing.
The exact date of the hearing has not been publicly announced.
JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY WANTS THE HEARING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
In August 2026, the Parole Board published details of applications seeking to have the upcoming hearing conducted in public.
One application was submitted by Denise and Stuart Fergus, James Bulger’s mother and her partner.
The application argues that the case has exceptional public interest and that a public hearing could help improve understanding of the parole process.
It also refers to Venables’ later offending as an adult and argues that public scrutiny could provide greater transparency around how risk is assessed and managed.
A separate application was submitted by representatives of Ralph Bulger, James’s father.
That application also argues that the case is exceptional because it involves the murder of a child, later offending, repeated recalls to custody and complex questions surrounding anonymity, risk management and release.
The applicants say that a public hearing could allow the public to better understand how evidence and risk are examined by the Parole Board.
A PUBLIC HEARING IS NOT AUTOMATIC
Although the applications have been made, the hearing does not automatically become public.
Under Parole Board rules, hearings normally remain private.
A public hearing can be permitted where the Chair considers that doing so is in the interests of justice.
The board can also allow sensitive sections of a hearing to remain private if necessary.
The Parole Board’s published guidance says factors can include the wishes of victims, potential emotional harm, the prisoner’s safety, confidentiality of evidence and whether public proceedings could interfere with the ability of witnesses to give evidence openly.
The board has considered a similar request in Venables’ case before.
In October 2023, an application to make his parole hearing public was rejected.
DENISE FERGUS HAS BEEN GRANTED ACCESS
James Bulger’s mother has been given permission to observe the upcoming parole hearing.
Speaking to ITV News earlier this year, Denise Fergus described the repeated parole process as deeply distressing and said she wanted the system to take Venables’ subsequent offending into account.
Her family has also raised concerns about the repeated cycle of parole reviews and the effect of having to revisit James’s murder decades after his death.
In Parliament in February 2026, MPs discussed concerns about the impact of parole hearings on James Bulger’s family and the possibility of reviewing the two-year cycle for parole applications.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The immediate issue is whether the Parole Board will approve the applications for a public hearing.
The board’s August 2026 publication invited written representations on the request. The deadline for the Fergus family’s application was August 14, while the application made on behalf of James’s father had a September 10 deadline.
As of September 23, 2026, there has been no public announcement confirming that the hearing will be open to everyone.
There is also no publicly announced hearing date.
The Parole Board will ultimately assess whether Venables can safely be released under licence. The decision will depend on the evidence considered by the panel, including risk assessments and release arrangements.
For now, Jon Venables remains in prison while the new parole process continues.
The case continues to attract intense public attention because of the age of James Bulger at the time of his death, Venables’ later offending and the extraordinary length of time the case has remained in the public and legal spotlight.
The next major development will be the Parole Board’s decision on the public-hearing applications and, ultimately, its decision on Venables’ latest parole review.
