UK PM Andy Burnham.
As of June 30, 856 people were still in prison under IPP sentences, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to end the controversial Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, saying people will no longer remain trapped indefinitely under a punishment abolished more than a decade ago, The Guardian reported. He also announced plans for a cross-party oversight group to examine how the changes would be implemented.
Marc Conway, CEO of campaign group United Group for Reform of IPP (UNGRIPP), said the announcement marked an important step after years of campaigning. Conway, himself a former IPP prisoner, said legislation alone could not undo the damage caused by the system but was necessary to begin addressing it. Burnham announced on Sunday that legislation would be brought in by the end of the current parliament to terminate the open-ended sentences.
Burnham said the government would take a “very careful” approach to ending the sentences, particularly because some prisoners could still pose a risk to the public. His sister Donna has campaigned for an end to the system, saying the government’s pledge came too late for her brother.