Today, Thomas White – a prisoner entering his 13th year stuck in prison on the open-ended, widely criticised ‘Imprisonment for Public Protection’ (IPP) sentence – has been allowed to see his 14-year-old son, Kayden, for the first time in over a decade.
Thomas White was handed an IPP sentence in 2012 for stealing a mobile phone. He was given a two-year minimum tariff prison sentence under an IPP, a type of indefinite prison sentence that came into force in 2005 in a New Labour bid to appear ‘tough on crime.’ White remains in prison today, with no immediate prospect of release.
Lord David Blunkett, former Home Secretary and original architect of the IPP sentence who since admitted “he got it wrong”, met with Kayden and Clara White, Thomas’ sister in the House of Lords in March 2024, and pledged his support to help make a reunion happen. The dream has now turned into a reality for the White family.
On seeing his dad for the first time today since he was a baby, Kayden jumped out of his seat and gave his dad, who is “the best hugger in the world” a hug which lasted for many minutes. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room according to Margaret White, Thomas’ mother and Kayden’s grandmother who accompanied the emotional visit.
Thomas commented on how tall Kayden is and their “lanky similarities.”
Until today, Thomas had consistently been denied the basic right to see his son, with the prison citing concerns about Thomas’ mental health. Thomas’ family describe the IPP sentence as psychological torture, and he has recently had his diagnosis shifted from schizophrenia to paranoid schizophrenia. A recent independent assessment concluded that Thomas’ IPP sentence was the probable cause of his mental illness.
IPPs were abolished in 2012, just four months after Thomas’ incarceration due to widespread concern over its implementation and psychological impact on inmates as an ‘indefinite’ sentence, but the abolition was not made retrospective, and thousands remain in prison, 12 years on.
Recent data released by the Ministry of Justice showed that 2,796 people are in prison serving IPPs today. 1,179 have never been released from prison, 705 of whom (like Thomas) are 10 or more years beyond their original sentence.
Margaret White, Kayden’s grandmother and Thomas’ mother, commented: “Today is a day my family never thought would come. Thomas and Kayden have finally been allowed to see each other after all these years. There was not a dry eye in the room.
“We are over the moon that Thomas and Kayden can start to build a normal father-son relationship, but our fight for justice has to continue. My son remains locked up in prison alongside nearly 3,000 other IPP prisoners who are being psychologically tortured by a sentence that was supposedly abolished 12 years ago. I feel like I’m watching a slow suicide and I pray that authorities can please help before it’s too late.”
Thomas’ family are urgently seeking Thomas’ transfer to a psychiatric hospital where he can access appropriate mental health treatment. Lord David Blunkett and James Daly MP for Bury North have both pledged their support to the family on this mission. Two hospitals in the Greater Manchester area have rejected a bed for Thomas in the last 6 months despite his worsening mental health.
Many stuck in prison on IPPs today are low level offenders. Others like Thomas include Wayne Bell, jailed aged 17 for an assault while attempting to steal a bike nearly 20 years ago in 2007, and Shaun Lloyd, sentenced to an IPP for stealing a mobile phone as an 18-year-old in 2005.
According to IPP campaign organisation UNGRIPP, at least 90 IPP prisoners have taken their own lives in prison to date, with the number feared much higher due to the complexities of measuring deaths in the community.
Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk, is coming under increasing pressure to solve the IPP crisis. Experts, campaigners, and politicians are calling for a review of resentencing for all 2,796 IPPs in prison, and those on recall in the community to end the IPP crisis. The House of Lords is set to vote on a series of amendments to the Victims & Prisoners Bill in May 2024, but neither the Government nor the Opposition are prepared to support resentencing to bring this national scandal to an end.
