Indefinite-sentence prisoner loses parole bid
A MIDLAND prisoner serving a longabolished indefinite jail sentence has lost his Parole Board bid to be released.
Nicholas Bidar is one of thousands still behind bars years beyond their minimum tariff after being given Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences – with no release date – despite the punishment being scrapped more than a decade ago.
The 36-year-old, speaking from Worcestershire’s maximum security jail HMP Long Lartin, told a recent public parole hearing he was living in “hell” as he begged to be freed.
He became the first prisoner serving this kind of sentence to have his parole review heard in public after laws changed in a bid to remove the secrecy around the process.
A summary of the Parole Board decision said: “After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and the evidence presented at the hearing, the panel was not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public. Nor did the panel recommend to the secretary of state that Mr Bidar should be transferred to an open prison.
“The panel could not be satisfied his risk of absconding from an open prison would be low or Mr Bidar’s risk to the public had reduced to a level that would be compatible with a place in an open prison.”
In 2009, Bidar – then 21 – was jailed for a series of robberies and using a gun to resist arrest. His eightyear minimum tariff set as part of his indefinite sentence expired in 2017.
He told the parole panel he fired a gun at police officers “not at them, just to scare them off” but insisted he was “not that person anymore”, telling the hearing: “I’m not going to go out and commit some crazy violent thing. I just want to go home.
“The risk of me ever committing a violent offence is not because I’ve been paroled, it’s because I’m still in prison. I’m trying so hard and they’re making me feel like what’s the point.”
In 2012, Bidar tried to carry out a robbery when he escaped custody, telling the hearing: “I wouldn’t run away now because it’s been so long – I wouldn’t have anywhere to go.”
Officials questioned said they did not think Bidar met the test for release or for a move to an open prison, recalling his most recent episode of violence in 2021 when he assaulted three prison officers.
Bidar made “inappropriate comments and behaviour” towards female prison staff throughout his sentence, the panel heard.
Officials also highlighted incidents where he had been drinking, gambling and found to be in possession of weapons while behind bars.
IPP sentences began in 2005 to prevent serious offenders not warranting life sentences from being released when still a danger to the public. Despite ending in 2012, around 3,000 criminals remain behind bars after such a sentence.
The government has since said hundreds of rehabilitated offenders could end their sentences by 2025 amid rule changes, which may mean their licence period ends earlier.
Although parole judges do not have a role in determining which category of prison inmates are held in, the panel considering Bidar’s case did recommend the justice secretary and officials take “urgent steps” to see if he can be moved to a lower-security jail at some stage and advised his case is reviewed again in a year’s time.