Lord Blunkett, former Home Secretary, and architect behind the contentious Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences introduced in 2003, has been enlisted by the family of an IPP prisoner – Thomas White – who is still in prison 12 years after stealing a mobile phone, to help fight against his unjust incarceration.

In 2012, Thomas White was given a two-year minimum jail sentence under an IPP, a type of indefinite sentence, for stealing a mobile phone. He was handed the IPP just months before this type of sentence was abolished, following widespread concern over its implementation and psychological impact on inmates.

12 years later, Mr White still has no idea when he will be let out of prison. His mental health has drastically deteriorated, to the point where he has recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

His sister, Clara White, and his son, Kayden White – who has never been allowed to visit his own dad in prison – have just met with Lord Blunkett to seek his help.

Lord Blunkett has pledged his support to help the family in their fight to get Mr White transferred to a hospital where he can access crucial mental health support. Lord Blunkett has also committed to helping Kayden see his dad in prison for the first time.

In a statement, Lord Blunkett said: “I was very pleased indeed to meet Kayden and his aunt Clara in the House of Lords. I will continue to do my best to ensure that there is a satisfactory outcome: that we can facilitate and find ways of meeting Kayden’s needs; support his father into a positive outcome from his present situation in prison, and above all, ensure that those services funded to help develop a pathway and acceptable outcome work together to achieve a result.”

Clara White, sister of Thomas White commented: “My family has now lived for 12 miserable years trapped by this IPP sentence – it is hellish. The only apology we have had in the last 12 years is from Lord Blunkett himself. Lord Blunkett listened to Kayden with much compassion. The relentless nightmares of not knowing if my brother will die in prison by suicide are exhaustive. I pray to God we are not next in line to get a call from custody to say my brother has taken his life. I pray no family gets that call. Sadly, many families have already received that call, and will continue to do so in the future as the death rates from this horrific sentence increase.”

Nearly 3,000 prisoners, many of whom are very low-level offenders, remain in prisons today on IPP sentences, despite this type of sentence being abolished in 2012, as the decision was not retrospective. According to IPP campaign organisation UNGRIPP, at least 90 IPP prisoners have taken their own lives to date, with the number feared much higher due to the complexities of measuring deaths in the community.

Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk, is coming under increasing pressure to solve the IPP crisis. Experts, campaigners, and politicians have called for a review of resentencing for all 2,852 IPPs in prison, and those on recall in the community. This comes as the House of Lords is set to debate a series of amendments to the Victims & Prisoners Bill on 12 March 2024, including an amendment, proposed by Baroness Fox of Buckley, which would commit the Government to resentencing IPPs.