Don’t deny justice to prisoners – The Guardian
“Jack Straw plans to cut ‘nuisance’ legal claims by prisoners. But doing so risks a return to the bad old days of rooftop protest.”
The Guardian, 17th July 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Category: prisons
Legal aid for prisoners to be capped as Jack Straw criticises lawyers – The Times
“Prisoners are to be blocked from seeking legal aid to bring ‘trivial’ cases against the Prison Service under plans to be announced by the Government today.”
The Times, 16th July 2o09
Source; www.timesonline.co.uk
Extradition battle over ‘onion risk’ – The Independent
“A man attempted to avoid extradition today because his human rights could be breached by being fed ‘potentially life threatening’ red onions in an Irish jail.”
The Independent, 9th July 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Multimillion pound deal could send Nigerian prisoners home – The Guardian
“Hundreds of Nigerians in British jails could be sent home to finish their sentences under a multimillion pound deal now being negotiated by the government. Talks are starting on a British investment to improve prison conditions in the west African country so as to allow the transfer of as many as possible of the 400 Nigerian prisoners here.”
The Guardian, 9th July 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
R (P) v Secretary of State for Justice – WLR Daily
R (P) v Secretary of State for Justice [2009] EWCA Civ 701; [2009] WLR (D) 234
“Where it was contended, pursuant to art 2 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as scheduled to the Human Rights Act 1998, that the state should investigate the treatment accorded to a self-harming young offender while he was in detention, a ‘real and immediate’ risk to life was a prerequisite.”
WLR Daily, 7th July 2009
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Prisoners on run cannot be named ‘due to privacy rights’ – Daily Telegraph
“Prisoners on the run from Holleseley Bay prison cannot be identified because it would breach their rights to privacy, the Ministry of Justice has said.”
Daily Telegraph, 3rd July 2009
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Cherie Booth backs call for radical prison overhaul – The Guardian
“Cherie Booth QC has endorsed a call to close some prisons and hand the management of the rest of the prison system in England and Wales over to local communities.”
The Guardian, 2nd July 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Epidemic of self-harm sweeps women’s jails – The Independent
“The number of women deliberately harming themselves in prison has almost doubled in five years – despite repeated government promises to improve conditions in women’s jails.”
The Independent, 27th June 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Private prisons ‘performing worse than state-run jails’ – The Independent
“Britain’s private prisons are performing worse than those run by the state, according to data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.”
The Independent, 29th June 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Injuries prompt youth jail review – BBC News
“Prison chiefs are reviewing how staff restrain inmates at a young offenders’ institution (YOI) after an ‘unprecedented’ number of injuries.”
BBC News, 23rd June 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Szuluk v United Kingdom (Application No 36936/05) – Times Law Reports
Szuluk v United Kingdom (Application No 36936/05)
European Court of Human Rights
“In a unanimous judgment, the European Court of Human Rights held that monitoring, by the prison authorities of medical correspondence between a convicted prisoner and his external specialist doctor, violated the prisoner’s right for respect for his correspondence, as guaranteed by article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.”
The Times, 17th June 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Britain urged to allow prisoners to vote – The Guardian
“The UK has come under renewed pressure to grant prisoners the vote in time for the next election or fall foul of European human rights legislation.”
The Guardian, 12th June 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Murderer wins fight to get state to pay for his haircuts – The Observer
“A prisoner has won a legal battle to have his haircuts paid for by the state while out of jail on day release.”
The Observer, 17th May 2009
Source: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/
Children in jail: lottery of justice is revealed – The Independent
“The jailing of children in England and Wales has become a postcode lottery where child custody rates in some parts of the country are five times higher than in others, according to league tables seen by The Independent.”
The Independent, 12th May 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
R (James) v Secretary of State for Justice (Parole Board intervening); R (Lee) v Same (Same intervening); R (Wells) v Same (Same intervening) (on appeal from R (Walker) v Same – WLR Daily
“The failure of the Secretary of State for Justice to provide courses to enable prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection to enable them to demonstrate their safety for release to the Parole Board did not render their post-tariff detention unlawful.”
WLR Daily, 6th May 2009
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Regina (Lee) v Same; Regina (Wells) v Same – Times Law Reports
Regina (Lee) v Same; Regina (Wells) v Same
House of Lords
“Although the Secretary of State for Justice had failed in his public duty to provide such treatment courses for prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection as would enable them to demonstrate to the Parole Board that it was safe to release them, their post-tariff detention was not unlawful.”
The Times, 8th May 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Jack Straw sets out prisons and probation plans – Ministry of Justice
“Justice Secretary Jack Straw today announced new plans on prison capacity and the management of both prisons and probation, better to protect the public and further reduce reoffending.”
Ministry of Justice, 27th April 2009
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Straw scraps Titan prisons plan – BBC News
“Plans for three 2,500-place Titan prisons have been scrapped, Justice Secretary Jack Straw has confirmed.”
BBC News, 27th April 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Inside Yarl’s Wood: Britain’s shame over child detainees – The Independent
“Children held in the infamous Yarl’s Wood immigration detention centre are being denied urgent medical treatment, handled violently and left at risk of serious harm, a damning report by the Children’s Commissioner for England will say tomorrow.”
The Independent, 26th April 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Super-jails are first to feel squeeze from Whitehall – The Independent
“Jack Straw abandons contentious proposal to fix overcrowding in prisons.”
The Independent, 24th April 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
