James Bulger's Killer to Face Private Parole Hearing

Jon Venables, one of the killers of two-year-old James Bulger, will have his latest parole hearing held in private, despite a request from James's mother, Denise Fergus, for the proceedings to be made public.

The Parole Board has confirmed that Venables's latest application for release will be considered more than two years after his previous parole appeal was rejected.

Ms Fergus had urged the board to hold a public hearing, arguing that greater transparency would help counter misinformation surrounding the case, which she said had a "retraumatising impact" on her.

She said a public hearing would improve understanding of the parole process and would have made her "finally feel listened to".

Parole hearings are normally conducted in private, although they can be opened to the public when doing so is considered to be in the interests of justice. Several media organisations also applied for the hearing to be made public.

However, the Parole Board ruled against the request, citing concerns for Venables's safety and his ability to give evidence.

The board said a public hearing would make it "very difficult for Jon Venables to give evidence", given the risk that people seeking information about his whereabouts could be listening with the intention of killing him.

Sir John Saunders, deputy chairman of the Security Vetting Appeals Panel, said on behalf of the Parole Board: "I note that a high bar has been set for a public hearing to be in the interests of justice and I have decided that this high bar is not met in this case."

Venables's previous parole application was rejected in 2023, when the board concluded that he continued to pose a risk to children and could commit further offences if released.

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

Venables was released on licence in July 2001 but was recalled to prison in February 2010 after indecent images of children were discovered on his computer.

He was released again in August 2013 but returned to prison in November 2017 after further offences involving indecent images of children. His case was subsequently considered by parole judges in 2020.

A spokesman for Ms Fergus previously confirmed that her application to observe the hearing had been approved.

Under reforms introduced nationally in April, victims have been given the opportunity to attend parole hearings, even when proceedings are held in private.

E&K Solicitors