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14/11/2006
Payout for addict prisoners forced to go 'cold turkey'
A group of former prisoners who were forced to stop taking drugs in prison by going 'cold turkey' have been awarded £750,000.
The High Court approved the damages for 197 prisoners and former inmates, who had claimed that being forced to go 'cold turkey' was a breach of their human rights.
The Home Office had settled a test case involving six men on Monday in order to minimise courts. All 197 are expected to receive around £3,750 in compensation and it is understood that most of the group have agreed to the settlement.
Speaking in court, Richard Herner, who appealed on behalf of the six test case inmates, said that the Home Office had now admitted that its policy on drug-dependent prisoners was unlawful. He said that this "inevitably means that such a policy must be changed with immediate effect."
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said that the case set a "disastrous" precedent and was a "massive failure of political nerve" on the part of Home Secretary John Reid, as well as a massive failure in his core duty to protect the public.
(KMcA)
The High Court approved the damages for 197 prisoners and former inmates, who had claimed that being forced to go 'cold turkey' was a breach of their human rights.
The Home Office had settled a test case involving six men on Monday in order to minimise courts. All 197 are expected to receive around £3,750 in compensation and it is understood that most of the group have agreed to the settlement.
Speaking in court, Richard Herner, who appealed on behalf of the six test case inmates, said that the Home Office had now admitted that its policy on drug-dependent prisoners was unlawful. He said that this "inevitably means that such a policy must be changed with immediate effect."
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said that the case set a "disastrous" precedent and was a "massive failure of political nerve" on the part of Home Secretary John Reid, as well as a massive failure in his core duty to protect the public.
(KMcA)
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