James Bulger killer Jon Venables to be given two-day parole hearing after being re-imprisoned in 2017

Jon Venables, the child killer who murdered two-year-old James Bulger when he was just 10-years-old, has been granted a new two-day parole hearing.

Venables, alongside Robert Thompson, took the young child from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside in 1993. The pair tortured and killed the toddler.

Both served a life sentence for the murder of Bulger before being released on licence in 2001 under new identities. Venables, now 40, returned to jail in 2010 and again in 2017 for the possession of indecent images of children.

He had remained in prison since 2017, however he is now eligible for parole for release. The two-day hearing is set to take place on 14 and 15 November.

A Parole Board spokesperson said: “An oral hearing has been listed for the parole review of Jon Venables and is scheduled to take place in November 2023. 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.”