JON VENABLES FACES NEW PAROLE HEARING AS JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY PUSHES FOR PUBLIC SCRUTINY

More than three decades after the murder of two-year-old James Bulger, his family is facing another painful chapter as Jon Venables prepares for another parole review.

Venables was one of two 10-year-old boys convicted of abducting and murdering James in Merseyside in 1993. Now, more than 30 years later, the Parole Board is considering his latest bid for release.

At the same time, members of James Bulger’s family have asked for the hearing to be made public, arguing that greater transparency would allow people to better understand how the parole process examines risk and public protection.

JAMES BULGER WAS TWO YEARS OLD WHEN HE DISAPPEARED

James Bulger disappeared from the New Strand shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, on February 12, 1993.

His mother, Denise Fergus, had been shopping when James was taken.

CCTV footage later showed Venables and Robert Thompson, both aged 10, leading the toddler away from the shopping centre.

James was subsequently taken to an area near a railway line in Walton, Liverpool, where he was murdered.

The two boys were convicted of murder later that year and became among the youngest people in modern British history to be convicted of such a crime.

BOTH WERE RELEASED IN 2001

Venables and Thompson were released from custody in 2001, after serving the minimum periods imposed on them.

They were given new identities and lifelong anonymity protections.

However, Venables was later recalled to prison after child-abuse images were discovered on his computer.

He was released again in 2013 but was recalled in 2017 following another offence involving indecent images of children.

A subsequent parole review in 2020 ended without his release, and the Parole Board rejected another application in 2023.

The 2023 panel concluded that release at that stage would not be safe for public protection and found that he remained capable of posing a danger to children.

ANOTHER PAROLE HEARING

In January 2026, it was announced that Venables would have another parole hearing.

The hearing is expected to consider evidence about his behaviour in custody, his risk and whether any risk could be safely managed in the community.

The exact date and arrangements have not been publicly confirmed by the Parole Board in the latest official information available.

James’s mother, Denise Fergus, has been granted permission to observe the hearing under changes that allow victims to attend private parole hearings.

For the Bulger family, the latest parole process comes more than 30 years after James was killed.

A spokesperson for Denise Fergus said the new hearing had reopened painful memories surrounding her son’s death.

FAMILY ASKS FOR THE HEARING TO BE PUBLIC

In August, the Parole Board confirmed that it had received an application from Denise and Stuart Fergus asking for Venables’ parole hearing to be held in public.

A separate application was submitted by legal representatives for Ralph Bulger and other members of the Bulger family.

The applications argue that the case has exceptional public interest and that greater transparency could help people understand how the Parole Board assesses evidence, professional opinions, risk and release arrangements.

The family representatives also raised issues surrounding Venables’ later offending, previous recalls to custody and the management of his release.

They proposed that sensitive information could still be dealt with privately if a public or partly public hearing were allowed.

THE PUBLIC HEARING HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED

Importantly, the applications do not mean the parole hearing will automatically be public.

The Parole Board’s official records show the application remains under consideration.

The board previously rejected an application to make Venables’ parole hearing public in October 2023. At that time, the Chair of the Parole Board did not grant the request.

The current applications are therefore a separate process.

The Parole Board invited representations on the request, with the deadlines running through August and September 2026. Its official collection of pending applications still lists the Venables public-hearing application.

A CASE STILL PROTECTED BY ANONYMITY ORDERS

Despite the enormous public interest in the case, Venables’ current identity is protected by lifelong anonymity orders.

Those restrictions remain in place because of the exceptional circumstances surrounding the case and concerns about the consequences of identifying him.

The legal protections mean that reports about the parole process must carefully avoid publishing information that could reveal his current identity or whereabouts.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The central issue before the Parole Board is whether Venables can safely be released into the community under appropriate conditions.

The board considers evidence about an offender’s current risk rather than simply imposing a sentence based on the original crime.

Its assessment can include prison behaviour, professional reports, evidence about changes in behaviour and risk-management arrangements.

For James Bulger’s family, however, the parole process remains inseparable from the loss of a two-year-old boy whose death became one of Britain’s most closely followed criminal cases.

More than 30 years later, they are now asking for greater transparency over the process that could determine what happens next.

The decision on whether the hearing can be observed publicly is separate from the eventual parole decision itself.

For now, Venables’ latest parole review is moving forward, while the question of whether the public will be allowed to observe the hearing remains unresolved.