Justice Secretary Jack Straw revealed today that he is to urgently review the new indeterminate prison sentence for dangerous criminals following concerns that it is creating a bottleneck in prisons. 

Mr Straw said he recognised there are concerns about the "indeterminate sentence for public protection" or IPP.

Following a tour of Belmarsh prison in south-east London he said: "What I am going to do immediately is to look very carefully at the operation of IPPs.  I am aware of concern from the judiciary.  And I am obviously aware of issues from prison staff, officials and now from prisoners as well."

The sentence, which was introduced by former home secretary David Blunkett in 2004, prevents dangerous and violent criminals being released until the authorities are satisfied they are no longer a threat to the public. 

Today Mr Straw met several inmates who had been kept in jail longer than expected under the tarriff imposed by their trial judge.  They complained they had been unable to complete rehabilitation courses because of the prison overcrowding crisis in England and Wales which has seen numbers rise to an all time high of 81,000 and forced ministers to release offenders early. 

Commenting on the Lord Chancellor’s proposed review of indeterminate sentence for public protection, Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:

“It is high time for a review of indeterminate sentences. They were designed as a technical measure to detain a small number of dangerous offenders. But badly drafted, and whipped up by the previous Prime Minister and Home Secretary, they have become a ferocious, unjust law that in two years has catapulted over 2,500 people into jail for who knows how long. This catastrophic change has been wished on the prison service without extra resources, leaving prisons under vast pressure and thousands of men and women held in overcrowded jails, beyond their tariff, with no means to show that they do not present a risk to the public. This sentence has become the catch 22 of modern day imprisonment.”