Overview
- The Parole Board panel ruled on Monday, November 9, 2026, that Venables was not suitable for release and denied his latest bid for freedom.
- Venables told the panel he was not seeking release and accepted that he must complete further offending-focused work while in custody.
- The panel considered evidence from prison and community probation officers plus three psychologists and a psychiatrist, with all but one professional concluding he should stay in prison.
- A victim personal statement was heard by the panel and described the ongoing devastating impact of the 1993 murder of two-year-old James Bulger.
- Venables has been released on licence and recalled several times since 2001 for offences involving indecent images of children, and this decision keeps him detained until he can demonstrate reduced sexual preoccupation and safer behaviour under supervision.