21 March 2004
You’d have thought the latest statistics on Britain’s ever expanding prison population would have given home office officials little to laugh about.
Prison numbers reached 75,191 last week - 20% up since Labour came to power - and still rising. Britain locks away a higher proportion of its citizens than any of its European neighbours, including Turkey,
with the number of women prisoners more than tripling in the last 10 years from 1,800 to 5,500.
And in the same week that a spokeswoman from the Prison Reform Trust – clearly, with one eye looking towards Bush’s America – asked if “we want to live in a society where more young black men go to prison
than to university?" New Labour answered by announcing that private firms from the US would be invited to tender for the running of a number of British prisons.
But it seems despite all the grim statistics this hasn’t prevented home office officials retaining a sense of humour, albeit with a particularly sadistic and perverse twist.
The Home Office is appealing today against a court ruling that victims of notorious miscarriages of justice should not have to pay the bed-and-breakfast bill for their time in jail.
No, you haven’t read that wrong. Officials are insisting that former prisoners, including the Cardiff Three, Birmingham Six and Bridgewater Four should be charged for their board and lodging whilst behind bars.
The sum suggests a weekly bed and board bill of about £60.
Michael O'Brien, one of the Cardiff Three wrongly convicted of murder, spent 11 years in prison before being freed by the appeal court. He later received £125,000 in compensation. Lord Brennan, the independent
assessor appointed by the government, deducted £37,000 for what he called saved living expenses.
His lawyers, Hickman and Rose, of London, challenged that decision and Mr Justice Maurice Kay ruled in Mr O'Brien's favour. The Home Office is appealing against that ruling and other aspects of the
compensation package.
If the appeal succeeds men such as Vincent and Michael Hickey, who served 18 years after being wrongfully convicted of the murder of Carl Bridgewater, will have to pay £60,000 each, about a quarter of
the compensation they received.
Michael Hickey staged two prison rooftop protests against his conviction. One, during a severe winter, lasted 87 days. His brother Vincent spent 44 days on hunger strike.
Vincent Hickey said yesterday: "I should have gone on hunger strike for longer than 44 days: then the bill would have been less."
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