Ministry of Justice issues statement after Doncaster prisoner goes on hunger strike

Thomas Reay, aged 39, is behind bars at HMP Doncaster over a series of armed robberies.

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He was sentenced to an indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP) and ordered to serve a minimum of six years but has served 11 so far.

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IPP legislation means that inmates remain behind bars until the Parole Board no longer deems them a risk to others, with no release date ever set in advance.

A petition has been launched calling for Reay’s release and the prisoner, originally from Newcastle, has gone on hunger strike to highlight his case.

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Reay was part of an armed gang which targeted bookmakers in the north east and stole thousands of pounds.

IPPs were introduced in 2003 by the then Sheffield MP and Home Secretary, David Blunkett.

They were designed for serious sexual and violent offenders but were used more widely by judges than had been anticipated and were scrapped in 2012.

The Ministry of Justice said: “Prisoners on IPP sentences were deemed by a judge to pose a high risk to the public and are only released after they demonstrate to the Parole Board that they are no longer a threat.

“More than 350 of them did so last year, showing that the system does work.”

An action plan involving the Parole Board and Her Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service has been put in place to help inmates serving IPPs to progress towards release.