Indefinite jail terms are an 'affront to justice' - probation watchdog

The probation watchdog chief for England and Wales has urged Keir Starmer to finally put an end to the scandal on indefinite jail terms, warning prisoners are “trapped in the system”.

- Amy-Clare Martin, The Independent

Martin Jones called for ministers to look carefully at fresh proposals to help almost 2,500 prisoners still behind bars under now-outlawed Imprisonment of Public Protection (IPP) jail terms. The chief inspector of probation, who previously led the Parole Board for nine years, told The Independent: “I genuinely think that IPP prisoners continue to be failed by the system as a whole.”

He said the government faces a “stark choice” of leaving such prisoners to languish — which he fears will inevitably result in many dying in prison — or taking action to put right what has long-been described as a stain on justice system. The jail term, described as “psychological torture” by the UN, was scrapped in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving those already jailed incarcerated indefinitely.