HUNDREDS of prisoners jailed under a scrapped sentencing scheme continue to languish behind bars, years after their minimum release date, Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke has said.

Mr Clarke blamed “significant failings” by authorities for the problems linked to the imprisonment for public protection (IPP) regime, which was scrapped four years ago.

Introduced in 2005, the sentences were meant for high-risk criminals responsible for serious violent or sexual offences.

If, at the end of their tariff, the individual’s perceived level of danger to society had not diminished sufficiently, they would stay behind bars until such time as they had satisfied the Parole Board that they no longer posed a threat.

IPPs were abolished in 2012, by then Justice Secretary Kenneth Clark, after it emerged that they were being applied far more widely than intended — in some instances for minor crimes.

But, as of September this year, 3,859 inmates sentenced to an IPP remained in custody.

More than 80 per cent of them were being detained beyond the expiry date of their original “tariff,” while two in five had served at least five years longer than the minimum term.

Over two-thirds of unreleased IPP prisoners in March had received the sentence for violent or sexual crimes, while others were for theft (104), drug (four) and public order (four) offences.

The HM Inspectorate of Prisons report said “significant failings” in the prison, probation and parole systems meant many were being denied the opportunity to demonstrate whether they present a continuing risk to the public, or to have this properly assessed.

It went on: “IPP sentences have not worked as intended and the current situation in which many prisoners find themselves is clearly unjust.”

Prison Reform Trust director Peter Dawson said: “This in-depth report shows a political decision is needed to cut through the bureaucratic knots that have entangled some prisoners for years.

“Liz Truss is entitled to feel frustrated at the failure of her predecessors to tackle the IPP’s toxic legacy, but she now has to be the Justice Secretary who does.”

Meanwhile, Parole Board chairman Nick Hardwick insisted that the body was doing its part to reduce backlogs, but he stressed that “significantly further and faster” progress would require decisions to be taken by ministers.

We need you support to keep running. If you like what you read please donate by clicking here.