JON VENABLES TO FACE PRIVATE PAROLE HEARING DESPITE JAMES BULGER’S MOTHER SEEKING PUBLIC HEARING

Jon Venables, one of the two men convicted of murdering two-year-old James Bulger in 1993, will have his latest parole hearing held in private after the Parole Board rejected calls for the proceedings to be made public.

The decision was announced on September 28, 2026, more than two years after Venables’ previous parole review. The 44-year-old is due to appear before a Parole Board panel at an oral hearing as he seeks possible release from prison.

James’ mother, Denise Fergus, had applied for the hearing to be held in public, arguing that greater transparency could help address misinformation surrounding the case and give victims a clearer understanding of how parole decisions are made.

Several media organizations also applied for the hearing to be opened to the public.

The Parole Board, however, ruled that the threshold for a public hearing had not been met.

John Saunders, deciding on behalf of the Parole Board, said a public hearing could make it extremely difficult for Venables to give evidence because of the continuing risk that information about him could be obtained by people who might seek to harm him.

Parole hearings in England and Wales are normally conducted in private. Under the rules, a hearing can be opened to the public when the board considers that doing so would be in the interests of justice.

The Parole Board said the decision did not mean the hearing itself had been cancelled. Instead, the panel will continue to examine whether Venables can safely be released under licence.

A CASE THAT HAS REMAINED IN THE PUBLIC EYE FOR DECADES

Venables and Robert Thompson were both 10 years old when they abducted James Bulger from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993.

The two boys were later convicted of James’ murder.

Because of their ages, the case was treated under a special legal framework, and both were eventually released under lifelong licence conditions.

Venables was released from custody in July 2001.

He was later recalled to prison in 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer. He was released again in 2013 but was recalled in 2017 after another offence involving indecent images of children.

His previous parole application was rejected in 2023, when the Parole Board concluded that he continued to pose a risk of further offending.

VICTIMS WILL BE ABLE TO OBSERVE THE PRIVATE HEARING

Although the latest hearing will not be open to the general public, victims have gained greater rights to attend private parole hearings under reforms introduced nationally in April 2026.

Denise Fergus’ representative has been granted permission to observe the proceedings.

The Parole Board’s decision follows applications from James’ family representatives as well as his mother and her partner, Stuart Fergus.

Their applications argued that the case was exceptional because of the original murder, Venables’ later offending, previous recalls to prison and the complex issues surrounding anonymity and risk management.

The hearing will ultimately consider whether Venables can be released under licence or should remain in custody.

The decision is expected to be closely watched because of the extraordinary public interest that has surrounded the James Bulger case for more than three decades.

For now, however, the proceedings will remain behind closed doors, with only authorized victims’ representatives and participants able to observe the hearing.