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James Bulger killer Jon Venables set for further parole hearing

Jon Venables, 10 when he killed James Bulger in 1993, failed in a previous bid for parole in 2023.

Child killer Jon Venables is set to have his latest bid for freedom heard by the Parole Board. The now 43-year-old, who tortured and murdered two-year-old James Bulger in 1993 when he was only 10, will have his case heard by parole bosses at an oral hearing more than two years after his previous appeal. In 2023, the Parole Board rejected Venables' bid, concluding he still posed a danger to children and could go on to reoffend. Venables was released on licence in July 2001 but was recalled to prison in February 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer. He was freed again in August 2013 only to be called back to jail in November 2017 for the same offence. Parole judges considered his case again in September 2020.

J.K. Rowling signs petition against Wes Streeting's puberty blocker trial calling it 'an unethical experiment' | Daily Mail Online

Posting on X, the Harry Potter author wrote:

J.K. Rowling has thrown her support behind a petition opposing a proposed NHS trial of puberty blockers, describing it as 'an unethical experiment on children who can't give meaningful consent'. Posting on X, the Harry Potter author wrote: 'I've signed. This is an unethical experiment on children who can't give meaningful consent.' The petition, which has so far attracted almost 74,000 signatures, states: 'The government is aware of the potential irreversible impact (physical and emotional) of puberty blockers, having acknowledged an 'unacceptable safety risk' following the Cass Review. 'Yet, hundreds of children are about to be given puberty blockers under a government-sanctioned trial.' It says the aim of the trial is to evaluate the risks and benefits of prescribing puberty blockers to children who identify as transgender and who have parental consent. However, critics have threatened a High Court challenge, arguing that the trial risks subjecting children to experimental treatment that could cause harm. The Daily Mail revealed last year that children taking part in the study will be asked to complete a gender identity questionnaire as part of the trial. The document begins: 'In this measure, gender identity is defined as someone's internal sense of self.'

Mosques have no business deciding our chiefs of police

A process like that seen for West Midlands police creates the impression that the force is somehow beholden or accountable to religious groups

It is hard to fathom why the leaders of a mosque should be involved in choosing a police chief. Such a process creates the impression that the force are somehow beholden or accountable to religious groups. How can this be sensible, let alone appropriate? Yet this is what happened in the case of Craig Guildford, the chief constable of West Midlands police, who faces growing calls to be sacked for the decision to ban Israeli football fans from a match in Birmingham. The bottom line is that mosque leaders are not elected politicians and have no place in selecting police leaders. Yes, it is perfectly proper for the authorities to engage with local groups, religious or otherwise: they are entitled to their views but no more. But the PCC should have known better. Involving religious groups in the process for choosing who will become chief constable is a recipe for disaster. https://archive.ph/pYhEy