Prisoners freed after Lords ruling

12 April 2012

Sixteen prisoners, including a number of violent and sex offenders, have been released from jail after a House of Lords ruling that the Home Office misinterpreted the law.

The Home Office refused to give details of the offenders' identities, or the crimes for which they were convicted, but said that some posed a "potential risk" and would be monitored in the community.

The offenders had previously been released from prison after serving part of their sentences but were returned to custody for breaching the terms of their licence.

However, one of them - arsonist Paul Stellato - successfully claimed that he could not be recalled to prison under the law in force at the time of his conviction.

The Law Lords on Wednesday refused Home Secretary John Reid permission to appeal against the ruling, triggering the release of Stellato and the 15 other offenders.

In a statement, the Home Office said it was "disappointed" by the decision. "Public protection is our highest priority," said a spokesman. "We are therefore naturally disappointed that the House of Lords has found that our arguments in this case are not compelling. A very small number of cases are affected by the judgment, some of which present a potential risk to the public.

"Sex offenders will remain subject to the Sex Offender Register and MAPPA (Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements) where appropriate. Similarly, violent offenders who are risk assessed as dangerous will continue to be subject to MAPPA."

Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, most inmates are freed on licence after serving half their sentence behind bars. But they can be recalled for breaching the conditions of their licence at any point up to the end of their term.

Previously, the Criminal Justice Act 1991 dictated that prisoners would typically be released after two-thirds of their sentence, but could be subject to recall only up to the three-quarters point of their term.

The Home Office argued that anyone breaching the conditions of their licence after the provisions of the 2003 Act came into effect in April 2005 should be subject to recall for the full period of their term. But the courts ruled that those convicted before April 2005 should be dealt with under the terms of the 1991 Act, meaning that once they had passed the three-quarter point in their sentence they could not be returned to jail.

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