James Bulger’s dad ‘completely raging’ at non-public parole listening to for son’s killer
James Bulger’s father Ralph has said it is “an insult” that a parole hearing for the toddler’s convicted killer Jon Venables will be held in private
Two-year-old James Bulger(Image: PA)
The father of murdered toddler James Bulger has blasted the decision to hold his killer’s latest parole hearing in private. Ralph Bulger said it was an insult to his son’s memory and “like trampling over the his grave.”
And he fumed he rights of paedophile Jon Venables, 44, were being put ahead of his victim’s family. Venables, who brutally killed two-year-old James in 1993, will present his case for release to parole officials at an oral hearing, over two years since his last appeal.
But despite pleas from James’ family for the hearing to be public, the Parole Board recently ruled it would happen in private. Ralph said: “I’m absolutely raging at this.”
Harrowing footage shows James as he was abducted from a shopping centre in Bootle in 1993(Image: Press Association)
The heartbroken dad told The Sun: “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.
“Once again it’s all about looking after child killer and paedophile Venables while James’ family are tossed aside like the rubbish.”
James’ mother, Denise Fergus, had previously insisted the hearing should be open to the public to counteract “misinformation” about the case which had a “retraumatising impact” on her.
Ralph Bulger has begged prison officials to keep Jon Venables locked up(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
She argued that a public hearing could enhance overall comprehension of the parole process and would make her “finally feel listened to”. Parole Board hearings typically occur in private, but can be made public “in the interests of justice”.
The board claimed a public hearing would make it “very difficult” for Venables to provide testimony because he could be “being listened to by people who are seeking to get information so that they can kill him”.
Ralph said: “He’s a coward, and is still a danger to children. If the Parole Board buckle, I urge Andy Burnham to step in and block his release.”
At Venables’ most recent parole hearing in 2023, the Parole Board dismissed the application and determined he remained a threat to children and might reoffend.
Venables was jailed alongside Robert Thompson after the duo of 10-year-olds abducted James from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993.
Jon Venables claimed inviting the public into his parole hearing would put his life at risk(Image: PA)
Venables was freed on licence in July 2001 and returned to custody in February 2010 after indecent images of children were discovered on his computer.
He was released once more in August 2013 and then recalled in November 2017 for the same violation, with parole judges reviewing his case again in September 2020.
A spokesperson for Ms Fergus previously confirmed her request to observe the hearing had been approved. Victims have been permitted to attend parole hearings conducted in private under changes implemented nationally in April as part of measures to strengthen confidence in the justice system.
