Former top judge backs call for review of IPP sentences

Britain’s former top judge has backed The Independent’s campaign for prisoners serving indefinite jail terms to have their sentences reviewed, and called for the government to take responsibility for the “morally wrong” punishment.

- AMY-CLARE MARTIN

John Thomas, a member of the House of Lords who served as lord chief justice from 2013 to 2017, fears that without action, those sent down under abolished imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences will be “left to rot” serving a jail term that is “inherently unfair”.

Reacting to a series of shocking injustices highlighted by The

Independent – including the case of James Lawrence, a father who is still in prison 18 years after he was handed an eightmonth jail term for threatening someone with a fake gun – Lord Thomas said: “You just can’t keep people locked up in case they do something.”

The controversial sentences – under which offenders were handed a minimum jail term but no maximum – were ditched amid human rights concerns in 2012, seven years after they were introduced by New Labour in a bid to be tough on crime.

Despite the sentencing protocol being widely condemned, including by the UN, its abolition did not apply retrospectively, leaving thousands trapped with no release date until the Parole Board deems them safe to be let out. Of the 2,734 IPP prisoners still incarcerated, more than 700 have served over 10 years longer than their minimum term. At least 90 IPP prisoners have taken their own lives.

Successive governments have resisted calls for IPP prisoners to be resentenced, citing fears that this could lead to potentially dangerous offenders being released into the community.

However, crossbench peer Lord Thomas, 76, believes there is significant evidence that prolonged incarceration with no hope of release is exacerbating the problem by causing prisoners harm and making them more dangerous. “I think everyone accepts this punishment was a mistake,” he said. “It’s just morally wrong.”