“DO NOT RELEASE HIM” — James Bulger’s Mum Issues a Heart-Stopping Plea as Jon Venables Seeks Freedom Again

Denise Fergus has said she fears what a ‘bigger’ and ‘stronger’ Jon Venables could do if he is granted freedom from the ‘protection’ of prison following his latest bid for parole

Jon Venables is up for parole again this year(Image: PA)

James Bulger’s mum delivered a determined message to a parole board considering the release of her son’s killer, reminding members of the renewed threat Jon Venables could pose to society.

Venables, now 43, was 10 years old when he, alongside Robert Thompson, tortured, and murdered two-year-old James Bulger after abducting him from the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993. The duo, who were handed indefinite sentences at juvenile detention facilities, have since been moved to adult prisons, where they have several times been up for parole.

Venables’ latest bid for freedom will be heard by the Parole Board despite finding in 2023 that he still posed a danger to children and could go on to reoffend if released, and murdered James’ mum has issued the board with a grave new warning.

Denise Fergus has warned Venables is ‘bigger and stronger’(Image: CHRIS NEILL)

Denise Fergus, 57, will warn the board considering his release that Venables is “bigger and stronger” than he was when he tortured and killed her son. Speaking to the Mirror, Denise said she was left “distressed” and “angry” to learn he has a chance at release as she prepares to attend a secret location to view a video link of the hearing.

She said: “It is distressing and frankly makes me angry that I’ve now been told that James’ killer will be afforded a parole hearing and a chance of release. Surely this person has proved he can not be given yet another chance yet he’s been given one.”She warned the board that it would need to remember Venables now has “more wits about him” and feared he may commit crimes post release in a bid to stay in the “protection” of jail.

James Bulger was abducted and killed by Venables and another 10-year-old (Image: PA)

She added: “The parole board must remember, he’s not a 10-year-old anymore. He’s bigger, he’s stronger, he’s got more wits about him. He’s been educated to lie to his back teeth. My worry is that if he’s released, he’ll lose that protection, he’ll be looking over his shoulder the whole time, he’ll have a target on his back.

“He’s not going to like it in the real world. What is he going to do to get back inside?” Venables has been freed from prison before, once in 2001 while serving a life sentence for murder.

James Bulger’s mum has said she fears what his killer could do if he is granted parole(Image: PA)

But he was recalled to jail in 2010 and again in 2017 after he was found with child abuse imagery on two separate occasions, in 2018 receiving a sentence of three years and four months. Parole judges considered his case in 2020, and in 2023 rejected another of his bids for freedom.

A summary of the decision released at the time found Venables had “accepted that he had a long-term sexual interest in children/indecent images of children”, and warned of “future risks” that he may view child sex abuse images again.

A Parole Board spokesperson said: “The Secretary of State for Justice has referred Jon Venables’ case to the Parole Board for a review. A member of the Parole Board has assessed the case on the papers, by reviewing a dossier of evidence, and has directed that an oral hearing should take place. The date for this hearing is yet to be set.

“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community. A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.

“Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. Evidence from witnesses including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements are then given at the hearing.

“The prisoner and witnesses are then questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”