Context
The James Bulger case is a specific example where the family faces repeated trauma due to parole hearings for Jon Venables, more than 30 years after the murder.
Question
Members of James Bulger’s family are my constituents, and they are yet again facing the agony of another parole hearing for Jon Venables, an ordeal that continues to retraumatise them more than 30 years after James’s horrific murder. While Parole Board decisions are rightly independent, the system must command public confidence, so will the Minister give the Parole Board an overarching assessment of Venables’ current risk and tell the House what reviews of the automatic two-year parole hearing cycle are being considered?
Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)
My hon. Friend is a fine champion for her constituency, and has raised this case with both me and other Ministers on numerous occasions. Baroness Levitt, who is responsible for Parole Board hearings, will meet Ralph Bulger and his legal advisers this afternoon to discuss this very issue, and I am sure she will be able to offer some more substantive answers to my hon. Friend’s constituent’s question. I put on record my thanks to Ralph for his campaign, and am very happy to meet him or anyone else on this issue in due course.
Not addressed: The Minister acknowledged the importance of the case but did not provide an overarching risk assessment or specify reviews being conducted on the automatic two-year parole hearing cycle.
How: Will Meet The Constituent
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