Prisons & Probation – Latest News:
- Fri, 19 Dec 2025 14:37:17 +0000: I’m on hunger strike in a British prison. This is why | Amu Gib - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Our demands are simple – and they start with stopping the flow of arms to Israel
Amu Gib is an activist currently being held at HMP Bronzefield
Amu Gib is one of several prisoners on hunger strike who are awaiting trial for alleged offences relating to Palestine Action. Gib is being being held at HMP Bronzefield. Their charges relate to an alleged break-in at RAF Brize Norton this year. This article is based on interviews with Ainle Ó Cairealláin, host of the Rebel Matters podcast, and the writer and researcher ES Wight on days 18 and 33 of the strike.
We began our hunger strike on 2 November: the anniversary of the Balfour declaration, when Britain planted the seeds of the genocide that we are witnessing today.
An HMP Bronzefield spokesperson said: “We cannot provide information about specific individuals; however, we can confirm that all prisoners are managed in line with the policies and procedures governing the entire UK prison estate. This includes specialist multi-agency processes, led by the government, to assess individual risks and security status. However, if any prisoner has specific complaints, we encourage them to raise them directly with the prison, as there are numerous channels available for addressing such concerns.”
Amu Gib is an activist currently being held at HMP Bronzefield
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Continue reading... - Fri, 19 Dec 2025 05:00:52 +0000: Thrillers should be on UK school curriculum to boost reading, says Lee Child - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Bestselling author says focus on ‘masterpieces’ puts children off as he promotes prison literacy scheme
Too much of the literature taught in UK schools is putting children off reading and thrillers should become part of the curriculum, one of the world’s biggest selling authors has argued.
Lee Child, the British writer of Jack Reacher novels, which have sold more than 100m copies worldwide, said: “I can totally understand why, if you’re an English teacher and you’ve read all your life and you love this stuff and you’ve been to university, then you want to introduce the big, major masterpieces. But that’s too much for kids.”
Continue reading... - Thu, 18 Dec 2025 11:00:06 +0000: Shackled, alone and scared: the grim reality for women forced to give birth in prison - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Across the world, incarcerated pregnant women are often held in deplorable conditions, leading some to miscarry or give birth alone inside a cell, say campaigners
Read more in our Women in prison series
Dina Hernández was 35 weeks pregnant when she was arrested near her home in San Salvador in March 2024. The 28-year-old human rights activist, who was with her five-year-old son, was accused of “illicit association” with gang members and jailed without evidence.
Three weeks later, her family received a call from the prison authorities to collect the body of her newborn baby. The cause of death has not been investigated and the family has no idea what happened, or whether Hernández – who is believed to remain in prison – received any postnatal care.
Continue reading... - Wed, 10 Dec 2025 18:02:24 +0000: Jailed Welsh women and their children face an additional trauma | Letters - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Mary Wrenn points out that women given custodial sentences in Wales are sent to prisons in England, which has a negative impact on families
Simon Hattenstone, quoting Ministry of Justice figures, says “the self-harm rate in women’s prisons in England and Wales was at a record high” (Report, 3 December). It is worth remembering that Wales does not have a women’s prison. Women given custodial sentences in Wales are sent to prisons in England (Cheshire or Gloucestershire, for example). This clearly has a negative impact on families, especially children.
The Welsh government’s preventive and trauma-informed approach favours the creation of residential women’s centres as a community-based alternative to short prison sentences. A pioneering project in Swansea, in development with the Ministry of Justice, is shockingly delayed. It can’t come soon enough for the hundreds of Welsh women (the majority of whom are themselves victims of domestic abuse or trauma) currently serving sentences several hours away from their families.
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Mary Wrenn
Llandenny, Monmouthshire - Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:00:40 +0000: When I met Craig he was 13 and homeless. I still thought his life might turn around. I was tragically wrong – podcast - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
I knew he was running away from something. It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered the truth
Written and read by Pamela Gordon
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