Peers warn not reforming IPP jail terms is akin to Post Office scandal

Peers have warned that the government is failing to deal with a miscarriage of justice akin to the Post Office scandal, after ministers refused to back legislation that would give new sentences to thousands of prisoners jailed indefinitely.

- Rowena Mason

James Timpson, the prisons minister, said the 2,964 people currently serving indeterminate sentences would in future have a better chance of being released, with more regular reviews of their readiness every six months.

Releasing a report on imprisonment for public protection (IPP), he said there would be a new traffic light system, with prisoners rated green, amber or red in terms of their progress towards being released. However, Timpson refused calls from peers to embark on resentencing of the prisoners, saying it would put the public at "an unacceptable risk of harm".

IPP sentences were given to offenders convicted of serious violent or sexual offences where a judge believed they posed a significant threat to the public but did not merit a life sentence. They were abolished in 2012 for new offenders but this did not apply retrospectively.

Since then, campaigners and families have sought to highlight the plight of many on indeterminate sentences who committed only minor crimes. The prisoners have had a high rate of suicide and mental health problems that have made it harder for them to make the case for their release.