Britain's former most senior judge has issued a powerful plea to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, demanding urgent action to end the national scandal of cruel indefinite prison sentences that have been likened to the Post Office and infected blood disasters.
A Legacy of Injustice: The IPP Sentence Crisis
Lord John Thomas, a former Lord Chief Justice, has accused ministers of ignoring "the urgency of the situation" as almost 2,500 inmates continue to languish in jail with no hope of release. These individuals are trapped under Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, a punishment scrapped in 2012 but not applied retrospectively.
Lord Thomas, a crossbench peer, argues it is "time for the state to recognise that a mistake has been made" and to finally deliver justice. The United Nations has condemned the sentences as a form of "psychological torture", and the human cost is stark: at least 94 people have taken their own lives in prison after losing hope of ever being freed.
Lives on Hold: The Human Cost of Indefinite Detention
The tragic cases highlighted include Leroy Douglas, who has served nearly two decades for stealing a mobile phone, and Thomas White, who set himself alight in his cell after 13 years for a similar offence. Abdullahi Suleman remains incarcerated 19 years after being jailed for a laptop robbery.
Last month, Lord Thomas tabled an amendment to the Sentencing Bill calling for IPP prisoners to be given a release date within two years of their next parole hearing. This week, the government voted it down. A parallel amendment from former Conservative Solicitor General Edward Garnier KC, proposing a judicial panel to review every case, was also defeated.
In a direct appeal, Lord Thomas wrote: "The IPP sentence is now accepted to have been wrong in principle by absolutely everyone. How, therefore, can we as a nation justly continue to imprison people under such a sentence? There is no answer to this question, save that the policy of the government is unjust."
Political Paralysis and Mounting Pressure
Despite Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy expressing sympathy for change while in opposition, the government has been reluctant to enact the reforms he once advocated. The Independent understands there have been heated exchanges at the top of government, with debates centring on public perception versus compassion.
Lord Thomas's intervention comes days after it was revealed that 233 IPP prisoners have been transferred to secure mental health units, often because the hopeless nature of their sentence has caused profound psychological damage. A senior doctor treating IPP inmates has warned that more suicides are likely unless the scandal ends.
The pressure is international. In September 2025, campaigners lodged a landmark complaint with the UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of five men who have served a combined 84 years under IPP terms. The complaint includes a damning 2021 letter from David Lammy, in which he called the sentences a "grave injustice" causing "simply horrendous" mental trauma.
Lord Thomas concluded with a powerful challenge: "2026 should be the year in which we at last remedy this longstanding injustice. It should not be a year when our government leaves the stain of IPP on our otherwise world-renowned system of justice." The Ministry of Justice has been approached for comment.
