Overview
- An oral parole review for Jon Venables is expected within the next month, with the Parole Board yet to confirm a date.
- Denise Fergus has been approved to observe the private session and will hear Venables speak for the first time in over 30 years.
- Anonymity safeguards will be in place, including an obscured image, altered audio, and the option for Venables to submit written evidence.
- Parole officials granted the hearing after reviewing reports from prison staff and clinicians alongside victim impact statements.
- A 2023 panel refused Venables’ release as a continued risk to children, and he was jailed in 2018 for possessing child sexual abuse material and a ‘paedophile manual’.