TeaOwney Woodley is angry at the injustice of it all. Enough is enough, says a Labor peer who has introduced a private member’s bill to anger prisoners serving prison terms for the public protection (IPP), which was abolished 12 years ago because it was considered a threat to decency. Was considered an insult. Although sentencing was banned, it was not done retroactively, meaning approximately 3,000 IPP prisoners are still inside, mostly for minor crimes, not knowing when, or if, they will be released.
Woodley says IPP is so scary that people often don’t believe her when they tell her about it. “If you said to someone: ‘You’ve been jailed for 16 years for stealing a plant pot’, they’d say: ‘You’re a bloody plant pot for saying that!’ “People won’t believe or want to believe some of the cases we expose.”
The man who spent 16 years in jail for stealing plant pots is Ronnie Sinclair, one of the people cited in this year’s Guardian series, the IPP scandal. We looked at other equally shocking cases in more detail. There was Tommy Nicol, who was given an IPP after stealing a car. He killed himself in 2015 at the age of 37 (one of 90 IPP prisoners to take their own lives) after he was refused parole for the second time, despite having committed no further crimes. Nicole’s sister, Donna Mooney, became one of the founding members of Ungrip, a campaign group that has highlighted the injustices of the IPP.
Then there’s Martin Myers, who was jailed for 18 years for trying to steal cigarettes. Like many IPP prisoners, he was on meager wages (19 months and 27 days) – the minimum time he could have served in prison. Also like many IPP prisoners, he was recalled to prison for breaching his license rather than committing any other offence. In Myers’ case, he was recalled for taking Valium without a prescription.
IPP sentences were introduced in 2005 by David (now Lord) Blunkett, when he was Home Secretary. This punishment was designed for people who were considered a danger to the public, who had committed crimes less serious than murder, who did not deserve a mandatory life sentence, and was to be used sparingly. . The reality was very different. Judges have frequently resorted to the IPP, applying punishment to minor repeat offenders rather than serious offenders who pose a threat. In total, 8,711 convictions were imposed and 6,000 people were serving sentences when the IPP was abolished seven years later in 2012 when the European Convention on Human Rights declared the use of the IPP “arbitrary and therefore unlawful”.
In 2020, former Supreme Court judge Lord Browne called the IPP “the greatest stain on our criminal justice system”. Last year the Prison and Probation Ombudsman, Adrian Usher, said: “A prisoner’s IPP status should be considered a potential risk factor for suicide and self-harm,” and UN torture expert, Alice Jill Edwards, said IPP prisoners “experience These are “punishments that are inhumane and often amount to psychological torture”, said David Blunkett, who has campaigned vocally against the punishment he introduced. The “biggest regret” of life.
The IPP is also known as the “99 year sentence” because IPP prisoners can technically be held in prison and on license for that period. In November, new legislation meant that IPP prisoners could apply to have their license period ended three years later instead of 10 years after release.
But that’s not good enough for campaigners like Woodley, who say it is a shame any prisoners are still serving such brutal sentences. Ninety-eight percent of IPP prisoners have served more than their tariff. Justice Ministry data released in October showed that 67 IPP prisoners have currently served more than 16 years in prison, despite serving sentences of 18 months or less.
For Woodley, outrage is the only answer. This means that 99% of those who have served more than their tariff will have a release plan, and those who remain will be given a sentence appropriate to the crime they originally committed.
Woodley, the former head of the Transport and Workers’ Union and a founding member of the union Unite, is hoping to see Labor – which was reluctant to embrace outrage while in opposition because it was seen as a political hot potato – now Change your attitude in government. However, he knows the government still fears negative headlines – especially because prisoners are now being released early due to prison overcrowding. In November Justice Minister Nicholas Dakin said the government rejects the sentencing of IPP prisoners because “it would create an unacceptable level of risk to members of the public, and particularly victims”.
Woodley disagrees. “The government always says that by expressing resentment they will all be automatically thrown out, but we are not saying that. The bill is very clear. We will have an expert committee that will oversee this and they will ensure that it is done in a way that protects the public. You can give priority to those who originally had the lowest tariff or those who have the highest tariff.
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Woodley says, if the government has any problem with any of his bills, he is open to suggestions. One option he will not consider is the status quo. “To do nothing and leave these people to rot in prison, which is essentially a life sentence, is absolutely unacceptable.”
He recently met with Prisons Minister James Timpson, who said before coming into office that he believed a third of Britain’s prisoners should definitely not be in prison and a third probably should not Should be. As the former chief executive of the Timpson shoe-repair and key-cutting business, James Timpson has gone out of his way to hire former prisoners. “If someone said to me ‘I employed 30 ex-IPP people, and they were a credit to me and my business’, as they did, that would benefit me,” says Woodley. “I was deeply impressed by the man’s honesty and his determination to change these abusive circumstances.”
However, will Timpson support his bill? “I don’t know,” Woodley says candidly. “I wouldn’t want to snooker him.” Although it was a bold decision for the Prime Minister to appoint a well-known reformer as Prison Minister, disappointingly little has been heard about Timpson since then.
Woodley says that’s why it’s important that everyone votes on their bill. “The independent vote is as important as any conscience vote, and the outrage has cross-party support.” He stops. “I’ll tell you what you don’t want. You don’t want your own party to oppose you.”
Ungrip supports Woodley’s bill. Since the Guardian series on IPP, Ungrip has been awarded the Longfellow Award for his work on prison reform – a worthy award for an amazing campaign. But it will be meaningless unless it sets a deadline for the release of all IPP prisoners – and soon. As for Martin Myers, he was recently released back into the community after being recalled. He appears to be doing well, but if this bill does not get royal assent, he knows he could be back in jail within the next three years for the smallest breach of license conditions, and that she is afraid.
Meanwhile, Lord Woodley knows he has his work cut out for him. Only a small portion of private members’ bills (introduced by members of Parliament who are not in the cabinet) become laws. But he is on a mission. “I have never fought so hard against injustice in my entire life that I have to give up now. There is a lot at stake here.”
What happens if his bill fails? “Well, we have already had 90 people take their lives; How much more do they want?” He is speaking faster and more insistently. “We are doing this because of the disgusting injustice that has happened before and is happening now. After all, 12 years after IPP sentences ended, can we still see nearly 3,000 people in prison without any hope? This cannot be right. I repeat myself,” he says exasperated. “How hell,