It’s not just prison books that are under threat, it’s British justice

The unfair treatment of prisoners is just one part of a broken system that should alarm us all

Chris Grayling's block on sending books to prisoners has offered a rare glimpse of the breaking heart of English justice Photo: PA

By Mary Riddell

The Telegraph -  02 Apr 2014

Later this week, an unwelcome letter will land on the desk of Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary. Its signatories, who are expected to include the novelists Julian Barnes and Ian McEwan, will urge him to revoke his ban on sending books to prisoners. That communication, coupled with an earlier threat by campaigners to take their battle to the courts, will dash any hope Mr Grayling might have harboured that a strange political furore would fade as quickly as it started.

In the manner of many lethal storms, the row blew out of nowhere. Rules imposed last November to stop prisoners receiving parcels from outside attracted no notice until the Howard League for Penal Reform highlighted their existence. Last Friday, the cream of Britain’s literati flocked to Pentonville prison in north London to denounce a measure that one claimed would damage “the soul of the country”.
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