The father of murdered toddler James Bulger has condemned as “an insult” the decision to hold a parole hearing for his son's killer in private. Jon Venables, who tortured and murdered two-year-old James in 1993, will have his bid for freedom heard by parole chiefs at an oral hearing more than two years after his last appeal.
The Parole Board recently decided the hearing would be held in private, despite calls from James' family and a number of media organisations that it be held in public.
Family's fury at Parole Board decision
James' father Ralph, 59, told The Sun on Sunday: "I'm absolutely raging at this. Our feelings and emotions don’t matter to faceless parole chiefs although we were given assurances we could attend. It’s an insult and like trampling over James’s grave."
He added: "Once again it’s all about looking after child killer and paedophile Venables while James’ family are tossed aside like the rubbish."
Mother's demand for public hearing
James' mother, Denise Fergus, had previously demanded that the hearing be held in public to help combat "misinformation" about the case which had a "retraumatising impact" on her. She had said a public hearing could improve general understanding of the parole process and would have made her "finally feel listened to".
Parole Board hearings are usually held in private, but they can be made public "in the interests of justice". But the Parole Board said a public hearing would make it "very difficult" for 44-year-old Venables to give evidence because he could be "being listened to by people who are seeking to get information so that they can kill him".
Killer's history and latest bid
"He's a coward, and is still a danger to children," Mr Bulger further told The Sun on Sunday. "If the Parole Board buckle, I urge Andy Burnham to step in and block his release."
At Venables' latest parole hearing in 2023, the Parole Board rejected the bid and found he still posed a danger to children and could go on to offend again. Venables was jailed alongside Robert Thompson after the pair of 10-year-olds snatched James from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993.
Venables was released on licence in July 2001 and recalled to prison in February 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer. He was once again freed in August 2013 and then called back in November 2017 for the same offence, with parole judges considering his case again in September 2020.
A spokeswoman for Ms Fergus previously said her application to observe the hearing had been granted. Victims have been able to attend parole hearings held in private under reforms rolled out nationally in April as part of efforts to boost confidence in the justice system.
