North prisoners get cash for being in jail

Sep 27 2009 by Tom Mullen, Sunday Sun

LAGS in North prisons have won thousands in compensation after claiming being in jail breached their human rights.

Jailbirds at two top-security prisons successfully landed more than £21,000 for “unlawful detention”, despite already serving less than their full sentences.

Inmates at HMP Durham and HMP Acklington, in Northumberland, claimed the windfall after they were kept behind bars only a matter of days beyond their parole date.

The Prison Officers Association said the reasons for this can vary from tiny administration mistakes to extra days being served due to prisoners being moved between prisons.

But it was enough to enable the brazen cons to hire solicitors and net the taxpayers’ cash, sparking fierce criticism.

Colin Moses, the North Shields-born national chairman of the Prison Officers Association, said: “This once again highlights how the views of the offender are put ahead of the taxpayer.

“This is a total misuse of funds at a time when the Ministry of Justice is telling the professionals who work so hard to keep our prisons working effectively that there have to be massive cuts.

“Prisoners very rarely serve the full sentence given to them by the courts. It is ridiculous to grant them this money.”

Marl Wallace, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance pressure group, said: “Most people would like to see convicted criminals kept in jail for more than half their sentence, and they certainly don’t think there should be compensation if their early release is delayed by a matter of days.