Fix 'monstrous blot' of IPT orders, justice experts say

Desperate prisoners who have been trapped in jail for up to 20 years for minor offences such as stealing a mobile phone could finally get a release date under landmark new proposals.

- AMY-CLARE MARTIN

Britain's leading justice experts have issued a string of recommendations to finally end the "cruel experiment" of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) jail terms, which have left inmates languishing in prison for up to 22 times longer than their original sentence.

A panel led by John Thomas, who was once Britain's most senior judge, convened by the Howard League for Penal Reform, will urge the government tomorrow to take "long overdue" action to restore hope to 2,614 inmates still trapped under the outlawed jail terms, which have been described as a "monstrous blot" on our justice system.

IPP jail terms were abolished in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving those already jailed incarcerated indefinitely.

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.

Successive governments have refused justice committee recommendations to resentence them, despite recognising the jail term was a mistake.

At least 94 IPP prisoners have taken their lives in custody as they lost hope of being freed, with a further 37 self-inflicted deaths among those released but left living in fear of being hauled back to jail indefinitely for minor breaches of strict licence conditions.

Tomorrow, the expert panel will set out six recommendations to the Ministry of Justice to finally give those languishing in prison a release date and end the cycle of recall.

Lord Thomas told The Independent: "We must not go on perpetuating this injustice."

The proposals would see: