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NEWS ARTICLE ARCHIVE
News Article Archive: About
This section houses UNGRIPP's archive of written journalism about
the IPP sentence. You can browse by year or by person.
News Article Archive: Welcome
2023
Independent
Ex-prisoner’s cry for help over indefinite jail term before his death. HERE
Justice Secretary to take ‘decisive action’ over indefinite prison sentences. HERE
Government blasted for refusing to resentence inmates trapped in jail with no hope of release. HERE
Revealed: 16 years in prison for stealing a bike and no hope of release – as 7 trapped in jail kill themselves. HERE
Sky News
"Like many IPPs, he hasn't had a voice." HERE
Reforms announced to address 'stain' of indefinite prison sentences. HERE
UN torture expert urges government to review 'mess' left by indefinite prison sentences. HERE
11 years for stealing a mobile phone: Inside the lives of IPP prisoners serving sentences of 'psychological torture'. HERE
ITV News
Ministers criticised after rejecting review of open-ended . PP prison sentences. HERE
Prisoner protests on roof of Strangeways prison in Manchester. HERE
Scotswood prisoner to be released 17 years after attempted robberies of coat and phone. HERE
Mother calls for immediate release of son jailed under abolished IPP scheme. HERE
Bracknell man jailed at 17 under abolished IPP scheme refused parole, almost 20 years on. HERE
Newcastle man released after 18 years in jail for trying to steal coat and phone. HERE
Torture sentences' that consign some of Britain's most wronged prisoners to decades behind bars. HERE
The Justice Gap
Government rejects calls to review IPP sentences. HERE
Government rejects recommendations to resentence prisoners held indefinitely. HERE
Trauma of IPP sentences revealed in new documentary. HERE
New information request reveals ‘significant’ decrease in licence terminations for IPP prisoners. HERE
‘Feelings of despair’ leading to IPP prisoner’s mental health problems. HERE
The Guardian
UK government rejects call to resentence prisoners detained indefinitely. HERE
Thousands of people like me are locked up with no fixed release date all because of New Labour’s political arms race. HERE
Dominic Raab could face action for contempt of court, judges say. HERE
Indefinite jail terms are state-sanctioned cruelty. HERE
The law is gone but they are still in jail: who will free Britain’s most wronged prisoners? HERE
UN torture expert urges UK government to review indefinite sentences. HERE
Recall rules to be eased on indefinite jail sentences in England and Wales. HERE
‘It’s bittersweet’: MoJ sentencing changes will bring freedom for some. HERE
Over 1,800 offenders to have indefinite jail sentences terminated, says MoJ. HERE
Number of offenders with indefinite sentences recalled to prison soars. HERE
The Canary
Another prisoner on an indeterminate sentence has taken his own life, with no release date in sight. HERE
The Mirror
Dad held in jail for almost three years despite being cleared of GBH charges. HERE
Inside Time
Raab set to reject resentencing call for IPPs. HERE
Transfers to open jails plummet by 90%. HERE
IPP: “We’ll battle on”. HERE
‘Free IPP prisoners to clear jail space for wolf-whistlers’. HERE
IMB watch. HERE
Newsbites: Board will oversee IPP prisoners. HERE
Perfect Timing For IPP Debate?. HERE
‘Parole reforms are a mistake’. HERE
Senior figures criticise Dominic Raab’s curb on transfers to open prisons. HERE
How, Why, What, Where, And When? HERE
Campaigners will fight on after IPP setback. HERE
Parole reform ‘puts public in danger’. HERE
IPP Focus: Last month the Government rejected a call by MPs to resentence all IPP prisoners. Here, three campaigners respond. HERE
Special supervisory board will oversee IPP prisoners. HERE
Prisoners can’t move to open jails and it’s putting the public at risk, says governor. HERE
Surviving against the odds. HERE
Unlocking IPPs after a hospital stay. HERE
If They Will Not Come To You. HERE
IPP exhibition opens in Parliament. HERE
Court of Appeal quashes IPP sentence. HERE
Rule-change should help lifers and IPPs to reach open jails. HERE
United Nations urges Government to review IPP sentences. HERE
IPP: Jump in recalls where no new offence committed. HERE
IPP causes suicides, says Ombudsman. HERE
Revealed: IPP ‘carousel’ between prison and psychiatric hospital. HERE
The March of the Amazons. HERE
United Nations calls for resentencing of IPP prisoners. HERE
This is not the end. HERE
IPP: How will the changes affect you? HERE
Decisions to recall IPP prisoners ‘are mostly correct’. HERE
Alex Chalk says licence reform brings “hope” for IPP prisoners. HERE
Labour opposes IPP resentencing. HERE
Government shortens IPP licence period. HERE
Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR) Scotland’s equivalent of the IPP- part 2. HERE
A peer with a plan. HERE
Invitation divides campaigners. HERE
Chalk ‘plans U-turn on licences’. HERE
Invitation to join IPP stakeholder group divides campaigners. HERE
Endless sentences ‘can be torture’. HERE
A prison helped me to heal. HERE
Government ‘set for U-turn on IPP licences’. HERE
Exhibition of hope. HERE
MoJ in go-slow on parole decisions. HERE
Perfect timing. HERE
‘Not working as originally intended’. HERE
Unlocking IPPs after a hospital stay. HERE
‘Keep politics out of parole’. HERE
“Raab’s IPP announcement was followed by suicides”. HERE
MPs see IPP art. HERE
Manchester Evening News
Clad in fluffy slippers and dressing gowns, filming for Snapchat, they arrived to watch the Strangeways protest. HERE
LIVE: Greater Manchester Police say 'male prisoner willingly came down from Strangeways roof' after 12-hour protest... and warn 'he will now face punishment' - latest updates. HERE
They have lost all hope': The 'scandal' jail sentence with a 'shameful' suicide rate behind the Strangeways roof protest. HERE
Prisoner 'will now face punishment' over 12-hour protest on the roof of Strangeways, prison bosses vow. HERE
All these men made big mistakes. But are we punishing them too much? HERE
The Liverpool Echo
Live updates as inmate climbs onto roof of Strangeways prison. HERE
Chronical Live
HMP Frankland standoff: Every update after inmate stripped to pants and climbed onto roof. HERE
The Critic
Not justice, by a long stretch. HERE
Daily Mail
Prisoner who staged 12-hour protest on roof of Strangeways prison is named as Joe Outlaw - a robber with 33 convictions. HERE
Hull Daily Mail
Inmate who spent ten years in jail for a 24-month sentence took his own life in cell. HERE
RGC
Abolish the IPP for all prisoners. HERE
Inquest
Powerful exhibition by families of IPP prisoners challenges continued injustice. HERE
Bracknell News
Free Luke Ing: Mother wants IPP prisoner son released. HERE
No5 Barristers Chambers
Secretary of state admits parole board may ask for views or recommendations at oral hearings. HERE
The Voice
Raab revives ‘racist’ prisoner law. HERE
Law Society Gazette
IPP prisoners need resentencing. HERE
A Lawyer Writes
Chalk considering limited IPP reform. HERE
Doughty Street Chambers
Court of Appeal allows out of time appeal against Detention for Public Protection. HERE
Context News
Policy, honestly. The real-life impacts of policy decisions. HERE
The British psychological Society
Government urged to resentence people on IPP sentences which cause psychological harms. HERE
‘Grave concern’ over imprisonment for public protection. HERE
Conservative Home
David Gauke: What Chalk, our personable new Justice Secretary, can achieve. Against a timetable of eighteen months or fewer. HERE
Independent Monitoring Board
IPP prisoners report increased hopelessness following resentencing rejection. HERE
Prison Reform Trust
Sir John Major: “We over-use prison and under value alternative sentences”. HERE
PRT comment: IPP reforms announced. HERE
Faith Spear
Public reaction to the IPP Scandal. HERE
The IPP sentence: At an Inflection Point? HERE
Let’s end this injustice now, TOGETHER: IPP Scandal. HERE
Centre for Crime and Justice Studies
Time to consider a compassionate release programme for IPP prisoners. HERE
Telegraph
Nearly 2,000 prisoners to be freed from Blair-era indefinite sentences. HERE
Howard League
We will keep fighting for the release of people serving IPP sentences. HERE
Peter Stefanovic
Imagine a country where a man has spent 18 years in jail for trying to steal a coat or imprisoned for 11 yrs for stealing a mobile phone - sentences described by the UN as egregious miscarriages of justice. HERE
BBC
POA National Chair, Mark Fairhurst interviewed on BBC Breakfast regarding prison overcrowding. HERE
The Standard
Justice Secretary to take ‘decisive action’ over indefinite prison sentences. HERE
Channel 4
Indeterminate prison sentences – when 18 months can last 18 years. HERE
Lancashire Telegraph
Almost 3,000 prisoners remain incarcerated under IPPs. HERE
Coventry Telegraph
Coventry man stuck in 'living hell' in prison for 17 years after being given 33 month sentence. HERE
The Times
Pledge to help inmates who served their time but stay in prison. HERE
Prospect Magazine
Will the government finally end the injustice of Imprisonment for Public Protection? HERE
Laura Janes
Casting aside the shadow of the IPP sentence. HERE
The House
Sentencing: Is Labour's prisons policy just a 'blank page'? HERE
Cots Ministries
The most scandalous story in the British justice system. HERE
Justice Select Committee
MoJ reforms on IPPs, parole and the Independent Public Advocate welcome, but IPP changes do not go far enough, Justice Committee warns. HERE
Jurist
Imprisonment for Public Protection: ‘The Greatest Single Stain’ on the UK Justice System. HERE
Russell Webster
IPP Recalls Mostly In Line With Policy. HERE
United Nations
Reform of problematic UK sentencing system welcome but bolder action needed says UN Special Rapporteur on torture. HERE
UN expert urges immediate review of discredited UK sentencing scheme. HERE
Quaker
‘In perpetual purgatory’: Quakers fear for lives of offenders with indeterminate sentences. HERE
Saunders
What’s Fueling the Rise in Self-Inflicted Deaths Among IPP Prisoners? HERE
Comment Central
Shake up needed on long-term sentences. HERE
News Article Archive: Clients
2022
ITV News
No light at the end of the tunnel': Hundreds stuck behind bars under law abolished in 2012. HERE
Hopes for Bury man serving indefinite jail term after calls for re-sentencing programme. HERE
The Independent
MPs call for an overhaul of IPP jail sentences. HERE
The Justice Gap
IPP scandal: prisoners stranded as ‘non-existent’ offences added to files. HERE
Campaigners call for immediate release of IPP prisoners. HERE
Inquest begins into death of ‘high risk’ IPP sentenced prisoner. HERE
The Guardian
Dominic Raab urged to release prisoners jailed under abolished IPP scheme. HERE
The Canary
A trans prisoner took his own life. His loved ones say the prison service is responsible. HERE
No relief on the horizon for victims of cruel indefinite prison sentences. HERE
The Economist
Too many British prisoners are still serving indefinite sentences. HERE
Inside Time
Bumbling Along. HERE
MPs prepare IPP report. HERE
IPP families Protest at Westminster. HERE
Pins and needles. HERE
IPP protesters to march in support of MPs’ report. HERE
On-the-run IPP prisoner speaks out. HERE
Decision day for IPPs. HERE
Only one in 35 prisoners joins an accredited programme. HERE
Hundreds of IPP prisoners at local jails. HERE
IPP protesters to march in support of MPs’ report. HERE
Into the hot seat. HERE
Offender management isn’t working, say inspectors. HERE
Parole Board warned Raab his reforms make its job “close to impossible”. HERE
BREAKING NEWS: MPs call for all IPP prisoners to be resentenced. HERE
Fewer lifers progress towards open conditions. HERE
Government set to reject IPP resentencing call. HERE
Mercy plea to free IPP prisoners. HERE
Transfers to open jails plummet by 90%. HERE
BBC
Cambridge Coroner says alert system access poses risk of future deaths. HERE
The Law Society Gazette
Left Hanging. HERE
Police Oracle
MPs call for the end of the IPP sentence. HERE
Lancs Live
'Model prisoner' found dead at Leyland prison after being refused parole. HERE
Birmingham Live
Escaped Prisoner Phones Birmingham Live to say 'Jails driving me insane'. HERE
Hull Live
Hull woman's despair as partner remains in jail 13 years after being handed sentence of only a few months. HERE
The Sun
Banged up. My brother was jailed for three years... but nearly two decades later he's still locked up and he may never come home. HERE
Open Democracy
Families' plea over 'barbaric' indefinite prison sentences for minor crimes. HERE
Prisoners ‘may have been refused parole due to fake crimes on files’. HERE
Hundreds have spent 15 years in jail under abolished indefinite sentences. HERE
People News Chronicle
The mental torture of Britain’s forgotten prisoners. HERE
Russell Cooke
Banged Up! Indeterminate Sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection. HERE
Inquest
INQUEST into death of IPP sentenced prisoner Lewis Powter. HERE
The Bury Times
Bury man may be released after IPP sentences deemed 'flawed'. HERE
PRT
Parole changes keep coming. HERE
Centre for Crime and Justice Studies
Call for the release of IPP prisoners "without delay". HERE
A Lawyer Writes
The law of unintended consequences. HERE
Halesowen News
MPs call for an overhaul of IPP jail sentences. HERE
Garden Court Chambers
Cambridge Coroner says alert system access poses risk of future deaths following inquest into the death of Lewis Powter. HERE
News Week
'I Spent a Decade Working Inside Prisons, One Inmate Made Me Quit'. HERE
News Article Archive: Clients
2021
The Canary
Thousands still languish in UK prisons with no release date. HERE
The Times
There are 3000 lifers who shouldn't be in jail. HERE
The Justice Gap
IPP prisoners should be resentenced immediately, says ex Lord Chief Justice. HERE
Sky News
Indefinite prison sentences: Campaigners call for existing licences to be ended. HERE
BBC
Prisoner served 10 years for theft of a mobile phone. HERE
Imprisonment for Public Protection jail terms 'a death sentence'. HERE
Unlock
The hopelessness of the IPP sentence. HERE
The Yorkshire Post
Re-sentence 3,000 prisoners caught in jail 'trap' inadvertently established by David Blunkett, MPs advised. HERE
Inside Time
IPP: Creation, abolition and festering afterlife. HERE
Amnesty International calls on UK to free thousands of prisoners held on abolished IPP sentences. HERE
'Trapped in a crumbling System'. HERE
‘Give IPP prisoners a release date’. HERE
Moving in the right direction. HERE
Parole Chief calls for resentencing of IPPs. HERE
UNGRIPP meets Secretary of State. HERE
Prisons: The good, the bad and the ugly. HERE
Outlaw does good. HERE
Rise in IPP recalls during pandemic. HERE
The time is now. HERE
Decline in OB programmes. HERE
Time to go. HERE
I know we'll make the same mistake again. HERE
Hundreds of prisoners take part in IPP inquiry. HERE
IPP is a “disaster”, admits Lord Blunkett. HERE
Resentence all IPP prisoners, says former Lord Chief Justice. HERE
Psychiatrist tells MPs: IPP makes prisoners mentally ill. HERE
Trapped in a crumbling system. HERE
Families share pain without end. HERE
Labour calls for cross-party consensus to end IPP suffering. HERE
'IPPs should be resentenced' - Parole Chief. HERE
Liberty supports IPP reform - HERE
IPP prisoners face cycle of release and recall - HERE
Man on two year IPP sentence dies in jail 14 years later - HERE
IPP licences lifted - HERE
IPP prisoner cuts off ear - HERE
Government changes policy on termination of IPP licences. HERE
No plans to terminate IPP sentences. HERE
MPs’ inquiry into IPP sentences welcomed by campaigners. HERE
“Toxic legacy” of IPP sentences. HERE
Families Share pain without end. HERE
IPP: A move in the right direction. HERE
A Winters Tale. HERE
Minister denies IPP's are rough Justice. HERE
Newsflash - United Group for Reform of IPP. HERE
Prisons White Paper will focus on rehabilitation says Dominic Raab. HERE
Desperately seeking solutions. HERE
Make the rest of your life the best of your life. HERE
Unique Individuals behind every statistic. HERE
Praise the Lords. HERE
Justice Committee Inquiry into IPPs. HERE
The Wrong Approach. HERE
News Article Archive: Clients
2020
The Guardian
Why are so many prisoners in England still serving these cruel, endless sentences? HERE
The Mirror
Top Judge blasts U.K's indefinite sentence as most monstrous injustice of all time. HERE
Everything you need to know about Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences. HERE
SW Londoner
IPP population at near standstill for first time in five years. HERE
Resilience. Understanding the journey from trauma to crime. HERE
Justice Rapport
The Forgotten – The prisoners who continue to serve abolished IPP sentences. HERE
Inside Time
Requiem for IPPs and their families. HERE
Essence (Kahaila-Reflex)
Imprisonment for public protection. HERE
Prison Reform Trust
I'm always walking on eggshells and there's no chance of me ever being free. HERE
Comment Central
Indeterminate sentences are an injustice to all. HERE
News Article Archive: Clients
2019
The Justice Gap
New legislation needed to ‘end the injustice’ of IPP prisoners. HERE
Planet Radio
Exclusive: Dozens of IPP prisoners still behind bars in West Midlands. HERE
The Guardian
IPP sentencing regime in England and Wales called 'deeply harmful'. HERE
The Overtake
No escape: The mental torture of Britain’s forgotten prisoners. HERE
The Vice
Thousands of Prisoners Are Stuck in Endless Limbo in British Jails. HERE
The Church Times
Pleas made to release 2400 prisoners still held under IPP. HERE
Inside Time
Completely unsatisfactory. HERE
Each Other.org
Prisoners Sentenced Under Now Abolished IPP Law ‘Give Up Hope Of Release’. HERE
Press Reader
Man in jail for eight years out in time for Christmas. HERE
Metro
Man jailed for stealing a bike at 17 is still in prison 12 years later. HERE
News Article Archive: Clients
News Article Archive: Clients
2017
The Week
Britain's IPP prisoners shackled with indefinite terms. HERE
Metro
Imprisonment for Public Protection – What is an IPP prisoner?. HERE
New Statesman
“I’m to blame”: Blunkett’s indefinite prison sentences and the thousands still locked up without hope. HERE
Russell Webster
IPPs, Recalls And The Future Of Parole. HERE
News Article Archive: Clients
2016
BBC
Imprisonment for public protection challenge rejected. HERE
Prison Watch UK
‘A living hell’ – the untold story of the partner of a man on IPP. HERE
Belfast Telegraph
Prisoners serving 'discredited' IPP sentences 'self-harming in despair'. HERE
The Justice Gap
Court of appeal turns it's back on IPP prisoners stuck in the system. HERE
News Article Archive: Clients
2014
Inside Time
I was the first IPP prisoner. HERE
News Article Archive: Clients
2010 - 2013
2013
Economic Voice
IPP PRISON SENTENCES ‘DAMAGE STAFF MORALE AND THREATEN SECURITY’. HERE
2012
The Justice Gap
What’s an IPP sentence. HERE
The Guardian
Indeterminate sentences: a 'stain' on the criminal justice system. HERE
2011
Inside Time
IPP Continues to plague the prison system. HERE
2010
Inside Time
IPP update: government admits situation ‘not defensible’. HERE
News Article Archive: Clients
PERSONAL STORIES
Wayne Bell
Meet the inmate still in prison after nicking a bike 12 years ago. HERE
John Cavanagh
‘I Tried to End My Life’: Covid-19 Exposes the Injustice of ‘never-ending’Prison Sentences. HERE
Ian Hartley
I’m one of thousands of prisoners with no release date in sight – this is how the IPP sentence ruined my life. HERE
The HMP kids: Damage done by IPP sentencing. HERE
Personal account from IPP prisoner Ian Hartley. HERE
Aaron Harris
Man who's been in prison for 13 years with no prospect of release under a now-illegal indeterminate sentence faces losing a leg due to severe self-harm as he struggles to cope with 'hopeless' situation. HERE
Shaun Lloyd
Cardiff man given 'life sentence by back door' for phone theft. HERE
Tommy Nicol
Man crushed by indefinite sentence drew a circle of blood before hanging himself. HERE
Sister of IPP prisoner who took his own life calls for urgent action. HERE
Charlotte Nokes
Charlotte Nokes's father: 'They might as well have thrown the key away'. HERE
Charlotte Nokes: the brutality of indeterminate sentences. HERE
I could well die in here': The story of Charlotte Noakes and the thousands still looked up on indefinite sentences. HERE
Kiya Smith
My son stole a phone aged 17. Soon he'll have spent 10 years in jail for it'. HERE
James Ward
IPP prisoner James Ward release is 'bittersweet' says sister. HERE
Prisoner 'trapped' in jail for 11 years to be released. HERE
Prisoner who has served 11 years on 10-month sentence to be released. HERE
James Ward will be released 11 years after being given ten-month jail sentence. HERE
Prisoner left languishing for 11 years following 10 month sentence to be released. HERE
A prisoner who’s served ten times his original sentence is being released. But thousands like him remain inside. HERE
Danny Weatherson
Man, 32, spent half his life in prison for trying to steal a coat and phone. HERE
Dad of ‘trapped’ prisoner Danny Weatherson says jail lockdown is 'like lying in a coffin'. HERE
Heartbreak for 'trapped' prisoner Danny Weatherson as he takes another blow in fight for release. HERE
Prisoner who has served 15 years of 15 month sentence fears for life as coronavirus spreads. HERE
Prisoner's emotional letter on 15th Christmas in jail for trying to steal coat and phone. HERE
Heartbreak for 'trapped' Scotswood prisoner Danny Weatherson after parole hearing adjourned until 2020. HERE
Anger as 'trapped' Scotswood prisoner Danny Weatherson's chance of freedom delayed again. HERE
'It's make of break for him now' - Prisoner Danny Weatherson set to learn his fate. HERE
Thomas White
Boy's powerful letter begging to see dad still in prison 9 years after stealing phone. HERE
Can you help me speak to my daddy? Heartbreaking letter of boy, 10, whose dad has spent nine years in prison for robbing a phone. HERE
Fears for dad in ninth year of 'soul destroying' indefinite sentence for stealing phone. HERE
Lawrence Owen
Man, 27, given indefinite sentence for trying to kill himself in fire could die in jail. HERE
Michael Presley
'I've lost hope' - Convict Michael Presley hits out in video after escaping prison. HERE
News Article Archive: Clients
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