Prisons & Probation – Latest News:
- Tue, 17 Mar 2026 19:02:26 +0000: ‘Missed opportunities’ to prevent woman’s death in prison cell fire, inquest finds - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Clare Dupree, 48, who had severe mental illness, died after using a vape to start blaze at prison in Gloucestershire
There were “missed opportunities” that could have prevented the death of a woman with severe mental illness from “sustained inhalation of smoke” after a fire in her prison cell, an inquest has found.
Clare Dupree, 48, from Cardiff, died after she used a vape to start a fire at HMP Eastwood Park in Gloucestershire just after Christmas 2022.
Continue reading... - Mon, 16 Mar 2026 14:43:31 +0000: ‘Second chance’: why minister wants to jail fewer women in England and Wales - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
James Timpson believes many women in prison shouldn’t be there – and a new board aims to bring about change
Pat had been in trouble with the police before, when she was 16 and had been spat out of the care system with no qualifications, no housing and no support. Nearly 50 years later, she heard a knock on the door again.
There had been a fire in the estate where she lived, and another resident said she had seen Pat start it. “I was in the police station for nearly two days before I got to the magistrates court,” she said, worrying one finger over the top of her hand. “The magistrate said he was sending it to the crown court, and sending me to prison, basically.”
Continue reading... - Sun, 15 Mar 2026 10:41:17 +0000: London’s Burning actor John Alford dies in prison aged 54 - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Alford, who also appeared in Grange Hill, was jailed for eight and a half years in January for sexually assaulting two girls
An investigation has been launched into the death of the actor John Alford after he died in prison two months into a sentence for sexually assaulting two teenage girls.
Alford, 54, was jailed for eight and a half years in January after he was found guilty of the assaults, which occurred during a party at a friend’s home.
Continue reading... - Tue, 10 Mar 2026 20:44:03 +0000: Jess Phillips reveals she is ‘victim of courts backlog’ as jury trial bill passes - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Exclusive: Safeguarding minister says man accused of restraining order breach will not come to court until 2028
A man accused of breaching a restraining order related to Jess Phillips will not have his case heard in the crown court until 2028, the Labour minister has revealed, as MPs voted in favour of controversial plans to scrap some jury trials.
During an emotive day in the House of Commons, the Labour MP for Warrington North, Charlotte Nichols, said she had been raped after an event she attended as a member of parliament but did not support the bill and felt that ministers had weaponised victims.
Continue reading... - Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:40:34 +0000: Soham murderer Ian Huntley dies after HMP Frankland prison attack - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
School caretaker who killed 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002 was reportedly assaulted with metal bar
The child killer Ian Huntley has died in hospital, just over a week after being attacked at a maximum security prison.
The former school caretaker killed Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, both aged 10, in Soham, Cambridgeshire on 4 August 2002. The girls had left a family barbecue to buy sweets.
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