The British government has announced plans to address the longstanding issue of indefinite prison sentences known as Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), a policy introduced in the early 2000s to detain offenders deemed a continuing danger to the public. Speaking in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Andy Burnham acknowledged the problem had been neglected for too long and pledged to bring forward legislation to end what he described as an injustice.

IPP sentences, introduced under the Labour government of Tony Blair and implemented by then-Home Secretary Lord Blunkett, were intended to apply only to a small number of high-risk offenders. However, their use expanded significantly, resulting in thousands of prisoners being held beyond their original sentences—sometimes by many years and for comparatively minor crimes. The law was abolished by the coalition government in 2012 but was not applied retrospectively, leaving an estimated 2,000 inmates still serving IPP sentences, with four-fifths incarcerated for more than a decade beyond their initial tariffs.

Lord John Thomas, former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, criticized the IPP system as excessive and inconsistent with basic principles of justice, stating that detention based on the potential for future crimes is incompatible with the legal framework that rejects preventative detention. He described the policy as an aberration amounting to “psychological torture,” a view echoed by international observers, including the United Nations, which has raised concerns about arbitrary detention of some IPP prisoners.

Data from the Ministry of Justice indicates that 30 percent of unreleased IPP prisoners were convicted of violent offences, 44 percent of sexual offences, with others convicted of robbery, theft, arson, or public order offences. Despite serious charges against some, critics, including Lord Thomas, argue that recall policies and extended imprisonments often exceed what is proportionate, with many offenders having served sentences far longer than those convicted of similar crimes outside the IPP system.

Prime Minister Burnham acknowledged political risks in addressing IPP, given concerns raised by opposition politicians about releasing prisoners who might still pose a risk. However, he emphasized a distinction between those who have served their sentences and those who have not, advocating for a solution that balances public safety with fairness. To oversee the release process, the government plans to establish a cross-party group tasked with ensuring that decisions are made carefully and transparently.

The announcement follows a campaign by legal experts, campaigners, and former officials urging the government to act more decisively than the current slow case-by-case reviews of IPP prisoners. The government also faces potential legal challenges after the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called for reparations to some long-held IPP inmates.

While the government acknowledges that the end of indefinite sentences will not immediately resolve prison overcrowding, advocates see the move as a necessary correction to a policy widely regarded as a significant miscarriage of justice. Burnham characterized the initiative as “politics done differently,” emphasizing problem-solving over political point-scoring and expressing hope that the public will support this approach to reforming the criminal justice system.