Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were 10 when they tortured and killed the two-year-old after luring him away from his mother Denise as she was shopping in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993
The mum of murdered toddler James Bulger has demanded a parole hearing that could free his killer is held in public.
Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were 10 when they tortured and killed the two-year-old after luring him away from his mother Denise as she was shopping in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993.
Venables was first freed on licence in 2001 but was recalled to prison twice after being found guilty of possessing indecent images of children in 2010 and 2017.
Now 43 he had a parole bid rejected in 2023.
But seven months ago he was told he would have the chance to argue why he should be released once more at an upcoming hearing.
Denise wants that to be held in public to combat ‘disinformation’ which has ‘retraumatised’ her family.
Kym Morris, chair of the James Bulger Memorial Trust charity., said Denise had ‘once again’ been ‘forced to confront a process that reopens unimaginable trauma’.
“Denise was hoping for a redirection, allowing her a measure of peace and protection from further distress. That hope has now been taken away,” she added.
Before 2022 all Parole Board hearings were held in private and the reasons behind decisions to release prisoners were not published.
The law changed after a successful judicial challenge to a decision to free black cab rapist Jon Worboys in 2018.
The move was overturned by the High Court and judges also struck down the secrecy rule surrounding decisions.
The Government later introduced a rule allowing the public to apply for hearings to be held in public – though the Parole Board has the power to refuse such applications.
The board said it had received an application from Denise and her partner Stuart Fergus arguing that due to the public interest in the case an open hearing could ‘increase understanding’ of the parole process.
A summary of the application published online said: “They argue that the prisoner should have to face up to his offending by way of a public hearing, especially given that he has committed further serious offences as an adult.”
The couple said Venables’ further convictions as an adult were an ‘exceptional feature’ of the case further supporting the argument for a public hearing.
Venables and his lawyers can also make representations about the application.
James’s murder sent shockwaves across Britain due to the horrific details of the attack and age of his killers.
Both Venables and Thompson were granted new identities upon their release to prevent vigilante attacks.
A High Court injunction is in place banning publications from revealing their new identities.