'Ultimate betrayal': Jon Venables could be released from prison within weeks

29 December 2022, 13:26 | Updated: 29 December 2022, 13:28

Jon Venables is due for a parole hearing in weeks despite his James Bulger’s wish for him to stay locked up.

The child murderer, now aged 40, is said to have a “strong chance” of getting out after apparently making progress behind bars. 

The father of James Bulger, the two year old who was killed in 1993, has urged justice secretary Dominic Raab to intervene after being told the parole hearing could come early next year. 

Ralph Bulger said: “If Venables is walking around as a free man as we mark 30 years of losing our beautiful boy, it would be the ultimate betrayal.” 

He told The Sun: “Mr Raab has pledged to crack down on the most dangerous criminals in this country. “Venables should be top of that list and never see daylight again.”

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He has asked for Venables’ case to be reviewed after changes are made to the parole system. 

The Government has previously said it wants to bring in changes over how serious criminals are released, with Mr Raab saying he wanted “grizzled law enforcement police officers” on panels when they decide if prisoners should be let out. 

There are plans to ensure ministers can stop dangerous inmates from being let out by blocking parole board decisions. 

Previously, the decision to release of John Worboys, the rapist, caused uproar.

A court overturned the decision, which led to the Parole Board’s chairman resigning. 

Under new changes, the justice secretary could oversee cases where the Parole Board cannot conclude with confidence that the tests required for an inmate’s release have been met, and they could also block people accused of murder, rape and terrorism from being let out. 

But the plans have not come into effect yet. “We know that Venables will never be rehabilitated. He is very sick and dangerous,” Mr Bulger said. 

"This is a fully-grown killer paedophile the authorities want to release back into the community without anyone knowing who he is.”

Parole Board officials will need to decide if Venables can be released safely. 

A decision to let him out would spark fury, with the memory of James Bulger still strong in the public mind. 

He was given a new identity and freed in 2001 but jailed for two years in 2010 after he admitted possessing and distributing child abuse images. 

Years after his release he was jailed again, this time for 40 months, after being arrested for possessing child abuse images.

He was denied parole in 2020 after serving half his sentence.