Jon Venables, one of the killers of two-year-old James Bulger, has lost his latest bid to be freed from prison after a Parole Board panel said it was "not satisfied" he was suitable for release.
The child killer was told he will not be released after a number of experts assessed whether he was fit to become a free man.
Parole Board decision
A Parole Board spokesman said: "As required by law, Mr Venable's case was referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State for Justice to determine whether he could be safely released on parole licence. The case was considered at an oral hearing on October 19, 20 and 21, 2026."
"The panel could only direct release if it was satisfied that it was no longer necessary for the protection of the public that Mr Venables remained confined in prison, that there was no more than a minimal risk of serious harm."
"At the outset of the hearing, Mr Venables submitted an opening statement to the effect that he accepted the need to undertake further offending work in custody and so was not seeking release. He asked the panel to advise on his outstanding risks requiring treatment. In order to comply with the referral, the panel was still obliged to consider release."
Evidence considered
"In reaching its decision, the panel considered the contents of Mr Venables' dossier, prepared by the Secretary of State."
"At the hearing, the panel heard oral evidence from Mr Venables' probation officers based in the prison and in the community, three psychologists, and a psychiatrist. They had all previously provided written reports."
"After considering the circumstances of offending, the progress made while in custody, and the evidence presented in reports and at the hearing, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Venables was suitable for release."
Background to the case
Venables, now 44, who tortured and murdered two-year-old James in 1993 when he was 10 himself, had his case heard at an oral hearing more than two years after his previous appeal in central London at the start of the month.
He was released on licence in July 2001 but was recalled to prison in February 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer. He was later freed a second time for the same offence in 2017.
Venables and Robert Thompson, also 10, snatched toddler James from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993. The pair led the toddler out of the Strand shopping centre while his mother Denise Fergus was paying for shopping at a butchers.
Thompson and Venables led James two and a half miles to a railway track where they beat him to death with bricks and a metal bar. James' body was found two days later on a railway line. He had been stripped from the waist down, paint had been thrown in his eyes.
The case horrified the nation. The boys were given lifelong anonymity orders and new identities. But Venables has stayed in the news all these years.
In February 2010 Venables was recalled to prison after indecent images of children were found on his computer and he breached his parole conditions by visiting Merseyside. In August 2013 he was released again with a second new identity.
