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The Independent
3 minutes ago
- The Independent
Senior judges reveal regret at handing out ‘unfair' indefinite jail terms and call for scandal to be ‘put right'
Senior judges who imposed 'unfair' indefinite jail terms, which have left scores of inmates locked up for minor offences languishing in prison for decades, have revealed their regret for their part in the 'injustice'. Former High Court judge Sir John Saunders said he would apologise to offenders he handed imprisonment for public protection (IPP) jail terms, which were scrapped in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving thousands already jailed incarcerated with no release date. Now the very judges who dished out the punishment have joined calls for the government to take urgent action to help more than 2,500 prisoners still trapped under the abolished jail term, which has been branded 'psychological torture' by the UN. Victims of the scandal, whose tragic cases have been highlighted by The Independent, include Leroy Douglas, who has served almost 20 years for stealing a mobile phone; Thomas White, 42, who set himself alight in his cell and has served 13 years for stealing a phone; and Abdullahi Suleman, 41, who is still inside 19 years after he was jailed for a laptop robbery. Sir John, 76, who served as recorder of Birmingham before he was appointed to the High Court, told The Independent that if he met an IPP prisoner he had jailed who was years over tariff, he would apologise. 'I should say I'm really sorry this has happened, it's extremely unfair,' he said. 'I didn't want to be party to unfairness. I would feel very bad about it, I would apologise to them.' He said that when the sentence was introduced in 2005 by New Labour in a bid to be tough on crime, it appeared there was a 'certain degree of sense' to plans to ensure offenders completed rehabilitation courses before they were approved for release by the Parole Board. But judges had no idea those prisoners would find themselves trapped in prison indefinitely, often without access to the courses they needed to be released. He added: 'I think the essence of the job of a judge is to be fair. And we really do all try to do that. So when we conduct criminal trials, we attempt to be fair. In passing sentences, we attempt to be fair. 'If we have been party to something which has been accepted by everybody as unfair and we have been part of it… it's a bit of an affront to the job.' He and Simon Tonking, the former recorder of Stafford, have lobbied prisons minister Lord James Timpson to help those still trapped under the jail term. Both have backed a package of proposals put forward by an expert panel convened by the Howard League for Penal Reform, calling for IPP prisoners to be given a release date within a two-year window at their next parole hearing. Mr Tonking recalled imposing an IPP sentence with a minimum tariff of just six months for a relatively minor offence after a man was caught following a woman in an alley. 'Now I wonder what happened to him,' he told The Independent. 'He was in his late twenties. For all I know, he may still be there [in prison]. 'And when I look back at that case, I think I should have tried harder not to impose it.' Although he was doing his best to administer the laws in place at the time, he is now determined to be part of the solution. 'I don't feel guilty, but I do feel, having been part of that, I should be doing all I can to put what has turned out to be an injustice right,' he added. 'And I am driven in part by the fact that I was part of the administration of justice at a time when these sentences were being passed. 'I have been a part of the system that is wrong. I feel that I ought to be part of the system to put it right.' Successive governments have resisted calls to resentence IPP prisoners, claiming they cannot risk letting prisoners out until they have passed the Parole Board's release test. However, at least 94 inmates have taken their own lives in custody after losing hope of being freed, according to campaigners, with many struggling as their mental health deteriorates in prison. Mr Tonking urged the Labour government to use its majority to finally end the injustice by taking up the Howard League's proposals, adding: 'Virtually everybody who has had any professional dealings with IPP knows that it's unjust and now is the time to act.' The proposed reforms also include providing a package of mental health support for released IPP prisoners and tightening up the criteria for recalling them. Currently, many find themselves hauled back to prison indefinitely for minor breaches of strict licence conditions, despite committing no further offences. Paul Glenn, who last year retired from his role as the most senior judge in Stoke-on-Trent, also backed the charity's proposals. He told The Independent: 'Nobody envisaged that 10 years after they should have been released, they would still be in custody. The injustice there is pretty obvious. 'It's undoubtedly right that we should be sentencing people for what they have done, rather than what they might do in the future.' Prisons minister Lord Timpson said: 'It is absolutely right that the IPP sentence was abolished. 'As the IPP annual report shows, we have significantly improved support for these offenders, with greater access to rehabilitation and mental health support. 'There is more work to do as we reduce the number of IPP offenders in custody, but we will only do so in a way that protects the public.'
Daily Mail
4 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Woman, 31, who mugged her pensioner partner in broad daylight before threatening to 'knock the jaw off' a good Samaritan is jailed
A woman who mugged her elderly boyfriend in broad daylight before threatening to 'knock the jaw off' a Good Samaritan has been jailed. Katie Bland, 31, from Greetland, Halifax, was in a relationship with a man in his 70s who she would often abuse and demand money from. On January 6, the gentleman left after an argument but was met with a barrage of abusive calls from Bland asking for money, Bradford Crown Court was told. At around 4pm, she found out he was at a bus station in Halifax and travelled to him where she continued her abusive onslaught, calling him a racist word and a 'dirty dog'. Moments later, she grabbed him by the collar of his coat and threw him around as she demanded cash. The pensioner offered Bland £20 but instead she wanted his bank card and became aggressive when he refused to hand it over. He offered to go to the cash point with her to withdraw money, however, she became violent on the way and started kicking him in the leg and screaming at him. A woman who witness the attack tried to intervene but Bland then turned on her, grabbing her by her scarf and telling her she would 'knock her jaw off' if she 'didn't shut the f**k up'. She then carried on assaulting the elderly man and managed to withdraw £40 from his bank account before police officers turned up. Bland was arrested and, despite responding with 'no comment' to all questions, later pleaded guilty to robbery, assault by beating, fraud and blackmail. In his witness statement, the elderly gentleman said he has 'never been so depressed or worried' throughout his entire existence as he was during his relationship with Bland. His statement, read out by prosecutor Nathan Davis, said: 'I wake up and don't know how she is going to be. I get abused daily. 'I lost all of my friends for my relationship. My friends have told me what she is like and asks for money to buy drugs. 'Her behaviour is the last weeks has become worse. It has affected me to the point I want to give up with life. 'I never want to come home due to the mess she has left in my house.' The court heard that Bland, who participated via video connection from HMP New Hall, possessed prior criminal convictions and was serving under a suspended sentence for a separate robbery when she carried out the offences for which she faced sentencing on Friday. In mitigation, Shila Whitehead explained: 'What she tells me is she has been in custody since January. She said she is aware her behaviour towards him was unacceptable and she is willing to accept help. She accepts at the time of committing these offences she was using drugs and was heavily dependant on them. 'During the time she has been in prison she tells me that she has undertaken a number of courses which has helped her. She is hoping to get help and change her ways and not have the lifestyle she has had for three years. 'When she has appeared before the court she wants to make amends and lead a law-abiding life. He has been in touch with her while she has been in prison and has been in communication with her family. 'He says he wants to support her if she wants to put in the time to lead a law-abiding life. Her family are supporting her throughout this. They have accommodation for her. They are supporting her and will be there for her when she is released from prison.' Bland was sentenced to two years and three months in jail.
Telegraph
4 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Peaceful ‘pink protest' outside migrant hotel hijacked by masked men
Violent masked men have hijacked a peaceful protest outside a migrant hotel in which women in pink danced a conga. More than 100 demonstrators gathered on Sunday outside the Britannia Hotel in London's Canary Wharf to oppose the use of the four-star accommodation to house asylum seekers. Video showed female protesters dressed in pink performing a cheerful conga as they waved England flags. But the demonstration was soon taken over by a gang of masked men who swarmed the crowd, set off smoke bombs and tried to charge the fence surrounding the hotel before arrests were made. They were also heard chanting 'Keir Starmer's a w----r'. Sunday's protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, including protests and counter-protests outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington on Saturday which led to clashes with police. Smiling as they sang, the conga demonstrators held a banner which said: 'Protecting women and children. It's not far right, it's just right.' One of the protesters was dressed in a T-shirt that depicted the Prime Minister as 'Keir Stalin', with a hammer and sickle, the communist symbol. Lisa, one of the protesters who was dressed in pink, said the protest had been organised by the local community to 'protect our women and kids'. 'We don't want sexual assaults, rapes and robberies in our community. We need proper detention centres and to deport them,' she said. Arrests and chants of 'send them home' Another demonstrator, Kelly, said the reason for dressing in pink was to send a message about 'women and unity'. But then chants of 'send them home' broke out while one man rattled the metal fence outside the hotel in full view of police officers. Tourists, shoppers and guests at a nearby hotel stopped to take pictures of the demonstration. Protesters jeered at people going in and out of the hotel, while at least one man was detained after an angry confrontation with officers. Onlookers chanted 'shame' as he was carried away. Tower Hamlets council was recently informed by the Home Office that it intended to use the hotel to house asylum seekers. In the early hours of Saturday morning, a coachload of men entered the Britannia Hotel, but it is unclear if they were migrants. On Sunday, a food delivery believed to be from Nando's was made to the hotel, which led to a number of boos from protesters. The Home Office would not confirm the identity of the men on the coach, but said in a statement: 'Since this Government took office, we have taken immediate action to fix the asylum system, removing more than 35,000 people with no right to be here in our first year.' Hotel protests spreading On Saturday, the Metropolitan Police made nine arrests after rival groups gathered outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington, north London. A protest and counter-protest also took place in Newcastle city centre outside the New Bridge Hotel and four people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences, Northumbria Police said. Scotland Yard said plans were in place to 'respond to any protest activity in the vicinity of other hotels in London being used to accommodate asylum seekers'. Elsewhere, Essex Police placed a number of restrictions on a planned protest in Epping on Sunday evening. The force ordered that the demonstration should finish by 8.30pm and must take place in designated areas outside the Bell Hotel, which has been the focus of a series of protests over the last few weeks. Police have also banned face coverings until 3am on Monday and have the power to direct anyone committing or suspected of committing anti-social behaviour to leave the area until 8am on Monday.
