Jon Venables parole hearing to remain private, board says
The Parole Board has rejected a request for a public hearing in Jon Venables’ latest parole case. Venables was jailed for the 1993 murder of two-year-old James Bulger. The board said a public hearing could make it difficult for him to give evidence because of threats to his safety.
Jon Venables’ latest parole hearing will be held in private after the Parole Board rejected a request for public proceedings. Venables was jailed for the 1993 murder of two-year-old James Bulger. The 44-year-old’s case will be considered at an oral hearing more than two years after his previous parole appeal.
James Bulger’s mother, Denise Fergus, had asked for the hearing to be public, saying this could help counter misinformation and reduce the retraumatising impact on her. Several media organisations also applied for public access. The board said a public hearing would make it “very difficult” for Venables to give evidence because people seeking information could be listening in order to kill him.
Parole hearings are normally private, although they may be opened in the interests of justice. In 2023, the board rejected Venables’ parole application and concluded that he remained a danger to children and could reoffend. Victims have been allowed to attend private parole hearings under reforms introduced nationally in April.
Venables and Robert Thompson were convicted after abducting James from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993. Both were 10 years old at the time. Venables was released on licence in 2001 but recalled to prison in 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer.
He was released again in 2013 and recalled in 2017 for the same offence.
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