UN to probe UK scandal of prisoners trapped in indefinite jail terms
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David Lammy admits the indefinite jail terms are a "grave injustice".
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A general view of HMP Wandsworth in southwest London, on December 6, 2023 (AP)
The United Nations is set to investigate whether the UK is violating international law by keeping prisoners trapped under Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, a regime abolished in 2012 but still affecting thousands, The Independent reported.
Campaigners are lodging a landmark complaint with the UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of five men who have collectively served 84 years behind bars, in some cases for minor crimes, according to the British newspaper.
The 30-page complaint, to be filed Thursday, includes a letter written in 2021 by David Lammy, now justice secretary and deputy prime minister, describing IPP as a “grave injustice” that inflicted “horrendous” psychological trauma.
Abolished but still in force
Introduced in 2005 and scrapped in 2012 after a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), IPP sentences were never abolished retrospectively. More than 2,500 prisoners remain in limbo, serving open-ended terms with no release date.
Prisoners must prove to the Parole Board that they no longer pose a risk. Even when released, many are recalled indefinitely for minor breaches of licence conditions. Since their introduction, 94 IPP prisoners have taken their own lives.
Cases sent to the UN
The five cases highlighted in the complaint include:
- Leroy Douglas, 43, nearly 19 years served for a street robbery of a mobile phone;
- Abdullahi Suleman, 42, 20 years served after a laptop robbery; recalled for missing a hospital appointment;
- Shaun Anton Lloyd, 39, repeatedly recalled, served 12 years for two robberies committed at 18;
- Wayne Williams, 37, 19 years served for a 23-month sentence after a fight with police;
- Joshua McRae, 34, died in prison last year after serving 16 years on a four-year tariff for grievous bodily harm.
Campaigners say the cases demonstrate how minor offenses have led to decades of imprisonment, amounting to arbitrary detention.
'National scandal'
International human rights expert Dr. Muin Boase compared the issue to the Post Office Horizon scandal, calling IPP “a national scandal” and accusing the government of ignoring international law.
“It’s so embarrassing for a developed country with such a great legal history to be brought before the UN,” Dr. Boase said. “My first-year law students understand this is fundamentally wrong.”
Shirley Debono, founder of IPP Committee in Action and mother of Shaun Lloyd, said, “Our government condemns arbitrary detention in China and Russia, yet it is happening here in the UK. This is the greatest miscarriage of justice. Our loved ones are suffering psychological torture.”
Pressure on Lammy, government
With Lammy now in government, campaigners are demanding he act on his earlier words. The complaint argues that the UK is breaching the 2012 ECHR ruling and that the sentences cause lasting harm to prisoners and their families.
Lammy’s letter, written as shadow justice secretary, acknowledged that IPP sentencing was “tragically flawed” and left low-risk offenders serving far longer than their original terms.
The UN will give the UK government 60 days to respond before issuing a formal opinion.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said, “It is right that IPP sentences were abolished. We are determined to make progress towards safe and sustainable releases for those in prison, but not in a way that undermines public protection.”
