Prisoner's brother warns 'torturous' IPP sentences will cause deaths in custody

Roddy Russell is warning that his brother, who is serving an indefinite sentence, could die in prison - ITV West Country's Political Correspondent Lucy McDaid reports

A man from the Forest of Dean whose brother is serving an indefinite jail term has warned the government that there will be deaths in custody if prisoners serving the now-banned sentence aren't dealt with quickly.

Rob Russell is one of 1,095 prisoners still serving an imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence who have never been released from prison, despite IPPs being banned in 2012.

"It's an absolute nightmare, it never goes from me, it’s in my head every day," Rob's brother, Roddy, told ITV West Country. "There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t try to do something to persuade the powers that be that this IPP sentence needs to be resolved."

Rob was handed an IPP sentence in 2009 after pleading guilty to making a threat to kill, with a minimum tariff of two and a half years. He worked as a welder in Gloucestershire before developing problems with his mental health and an addiction to alcohol.

"The nearest that I’d come to the criminal justice system was a speeding fine and Rob was the same," says Roddy.

"Up until this point I thought, you do your crime, spend your time in prison, and come out at your two and a half year point."

But Rob's sentence was an IPP.

What are Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences?

They were introduced by Labour under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and first imposed in 2005. They were intended for offenders convicted of one or more serious violent or sexual offences which didn't warrant a life sentence, but where the offender was considered a serious danger to the public in future.

Once the minimum tariff had been served, it was then up to the Parole Board to decide if the offender was deemed safe enough for public life. If released, they would be on licence and recalled to prison if in breach of their conditions or guilty of other offences.

Up until very recently, an offender would need to wait 10 years on licence before they were able to apply to have their licence terminated. Under changes implemented by the previous Tory government - as part of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 - IPP offenders released from custody at least five years ago, but not sent back to prison in the past two years, will have their licences automatically terminated.

Eligibility for the Parole Board to terminate licences has also been dropped from 10 years, to three.

There is a huge amount of positivity within government about the changes, but the families of the prisoners who have never been released want all IPP prisoners given some kind of resolution.

Roddy says: "They've all developed a mental health impairment as a direct result of the IPP sentence. They [government] are trying to claim they can treat them in prison, but if prison is the place making them unwell, then prison isn't the right place to treat them."

"They [IPP prisoners] are now victims of torture from the government in my opinion," he adds.

The sentences are widely acknowledged as being a 'stain' on the UK's justice system, not just by campaigners but many politicians too.

Lord David Blunkett, the Labour former Home Secretary who helped introduce them, has previously admitted that their introduction is one of his biggest regrets in government.

Talking about his brother, Rob says he's now too mentally unwell to prove he can be released, describing his situation as an "awful vicious cycle", similar to that of others in the remaining "cohort" of IPP prisoners.

The Ministry of Justice says: "It is right that IPP sentences were abolished. With public protection as the number one priority, the Lord Chancellor has just announced plans to significantly shorten the license periods for rehabilitated offenders on these sentences.

"She is also looking at how else we can improve access to mental health support and rehabilitation programmes for those still in prison."

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