PRISONERS GIVEN EXTRA DAYS IN JAIL TO GO FREE

Up to 900 prisoners are being released from jails in England and Wales in
the wake of an historic European Court ruling.

Prison governors have been stripped of their powers to punish inmates by
adding days to sentences in a move which could also lead to compensation
claims totalling millions of pounds. The European Court of Human Rights
ruled on 15 July that the disciplinary system violated their right to a
fair trial.

The way is now open for potentially thousands of offenders who were made to
serve extra time to sue the Prison Service for unlawful imprisonment.

Prison governors in England and Wales have this week been sent a letter
from the Prison Service headquarters suspending the power to impose added
days and ordering them to strike off any added days from current sentences.

Joe Levenson of the Prison Reform Trust said: "We welcome the news that
prison governors will lose their powers to extend prisoners' sentences.
Imprisonment should only be imposed by an independent court and with legal
representation available for prisoners.

"However, it is deeply disappointing that the Prison Service ignored our
warnings that they were breaking human rights law. Now they will now have
to release hundreds of prisoners and face damages."

A Home Office spokesman said "approximately 900" inmates had been or were
about to be released due to the ruling. "If the prisoners want to take
legal action against the Prison Service that's up to them individually," he
added.

* The prison population should be massively reduced and offences such as
failing to buy a television licence, begging and motoring breaches
decriminalised, the Institute for Public Policy Research will say in a
report to be published today.