The two leading prison reform groups in the country have sent a formal letter before claim to the Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland, over the government’s failure to respond effectively to the coronavirus pandemic in prisons.
The letter, from lawyers acting for the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prison Reform Trust, gives details of a proposed application for judicial review in relation to the Secretary of State’s response “to the obvious need…to substantially reduce the prison population to save lives and avoid a public health catastrophe both within prisons and beyond”.
Dan Squires QC, Nick Armstrong and Ayesha Christie are instructed by Bhatt Murphy Solicitors on behalf of the Howard League and Penal Reform Trust.
For the full press release, please see here.