Prisons & Probation – Latest News:
- Sat, 23 May 2026 16:00:31 +0000: New breed of political prisoner arises in Britain as anti-protest sentences rise - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
More people are being jailed in England and Wales as a result of acting to prevent climate breakdown and the war in Gaza, research reveals
Britain has created a new breed of political prisoners through the systematic incarceration of people acting to prevent climate breakdown and the annihilation of Gaza, a report claims.
The research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and the protest group Defend Our Juries says that custodial sentences for acts of direct action or civil disobedience were once rare but are now being imposed with increasing length and frequency.
Continue reading... - Sun, 17 May 2026 23:01:51 +0000: David Lammy promises 25% cut in number of children jailed while they await trial - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Justice secretary’s white paper will overhaul youth justice rules and could end lifelong criminal records for under-18s
David Lammy has promised to cut the number of children kept in jail while they await trial by a quarter as part of an overhaul of youth justice rules that could also end lifelong criminal records for under-18s.
The justice secretary is publishing a white paper on Monday that he says will reduce the number of children ending up in jail – something he admits was his greatest fear growing up in Tottenham in the 1980s.
Continue reading... - Thu, 14 May 2026 12:48:56 +0000: John Worboys is denied parole for second time - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Parole Board tells victims of black cab rapist that it had decided against open conditions or release
The black-cab rapist John Worboys has been denied parole for the second time.
The Parole Board told his victims on Thursday that it had decided against either releasing Worboys or allowing him to move to open conditions within prison.
Continue reading... - Thu, 14 May 2026 12:37:05 +0000: I’ve been writing to Jeremy Bamber for years, but suddenly the prison has stopped me. Why? | Simon Hattenstone - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Prisoners have a right to communicate with the media about their cases. Yet after 41 years in jail, Bamber has been banned
A few weeks ago I wrote a lengthy email to Jeremy Bamber, who has been in prison for nearly 41 years after being convicted of murdering five family members. Bamber has always protested his innocence, and the late Guardian prison correspondent Eric Allison and I have frequently written about Bamber and the White House Farm murders in the Guardian over the years.
In the email, I asked about aspects of his case as I often do, chatted about a football match I’d been to with my younger daughter at the weekend, mentioned that I’d been out for lunch with a forensics expert, and said we had an amazing blossom tree across the road that had just come into full bloom. I also emailed a photo of the blossom tree.
Simon Hattenstone is a features writer for the Guardian
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Continue reading... - Wed, 06 May 2026 05:00:02 +0000: Attempts to stop prison drone drug deliveries hampered by crumbling Victorian walls - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Plans to install tougher netting and window grilles set back because walls cannot take extra weight, prison governors say
Weak and crumbling walls in Victorian prisons are hampering attempts to halt drones from delivering drugs and weapons to inmates.
Plans to install tougher netting and window grilles to stop drones from entering have been hampered because the walls have been unable to take the extra weight, prison governors said.
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