JON VENABLES FACES NEW PAROLE HEARING — NEARLY 34 YEARS AFTER JAMES BULGER’S MURDER

Nearly 34 years after the death of two-year-old James Bulger, the man convicted alongside Robert Thompson will once again face the Parole Board.

Jon Venables, now 44, is due to have a new oral parole hearing, more than two years after his previous bid for release was rejected.

But the latest hearing will take place behind closed doors, after the Parole Board rejected an application from James’s mother, Denise Fergus, and others who wanted the proceedings to be made public.

A CASE THAT HAS NEVER LEFT THE PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS

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

Venables and Robert Thompson, both aged 10 at the time, were convicted of James’s murder.

The case became one of the most closely followed criminal cases in modern British history, partly because of the ages of those responsible.

Venables has since spent years under strict anonymity protections because of the continuing security risks surrounding his identity and whereabouts.

ANOTHER PAROLE BID

Venables was first released on licence in 2001, but was later recalled to prison in 2010 after child abuse images were found on his computer.

He was released again in 2013.

In 2017, he was recalled once more after being found in possession of child abuse images.

His parole position was subsequently reviewed, including a hearing in 2020.

In 2023, the Parole Board rejected his application for release, finding that he continued to pose a risk of further offending.

Now, after more than two years, another parole review is being held.

JAMES’S MOTHER WANTED THE HEARING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Denise Fergus applied for the upcoming hearing to be made public.

The application argued that the exceptional public interest in the case, along with misinformation circulating online, made greater transparency important.

The Parole Board’s published documents confirm that Denise and Stuart Fergus argued a public hearing could improve understanding of the parole process and help address misinformation that they said had a retraumatising impact.

Other representatives connected to James’s family also supported a public hearing.

But the application was rejected.

WHY WILL IT REMAIN PRIVATE?

Parole hearings are normally held in private, although the rules allow them to be opened to public observation in exceptional circumstances when it is considered to be in the interests of justice.

In this case, the Parole Board decided that the threshold for a public hearing had not been met.

The Board also said that allowing the public to observe could make it difficult for Venables to give evidence because of concerns that people could use information from the hearing to locate or harm him.

The decision was published by the UK government on September 28, 2026.

DENISE FERGUS WILL BE ABLE TO OBSERVE

Although the hearing will not be public, victims are now able to attend private parole hearings under reforms introduced nationally earlier this year.

Denise Fergus’s application to observe the hearing has been granted.

This means she will be able to hear the proceedings, although the hearing itself will not be open for general public observation.

THE FAMILY HAS LIVED WITH THE CASE FOR DECADES

For James’s family, the parole process has repeatedly reopened memories of what happened to their little boy.

Denise has spent decades campaigning for James to be remembered and for greater understanding of the circumstances surrounding his death.

The latest parole hearing comes as the family continues to live with the consequences of a case that began in 1993 and has never truly left the headlines.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The upcoming hearing will consider whether Venables should remain in custody or whether the legal requirements for release on licence have been met.

The Parole Board’s decision will depend on the evidence presented to the panel and its assessment of risk.

A decision to hold the hearing privately does not itself mean that Venables will be released.

For now, his parole status remains undecided.

NEARLY THREE DECADES OF QUESTIONS

James Bulger was only two years old when his life was taken.

Today, his name remains closely associated with one of Britain’s most painful criminal cases.

Jon Venables is now 44.

His latest parole bid will once again bring the case back into public attention — while James’s family continues to carry the loss of a child who never had the chance to grow up.

The hearing will be private.

But for the Bulger family, the memories of James have never gone away.