Jail sorry for banning convict dad from seeing infant son
HMP SUDBURY SENT LETTER TO FAMILY STOPPING VISITS AFTER TOT HUGGED FATHER
A JAIL near Burton has apologised after sending a letter telling a family they were banned from visiting an inmate because his toddler son hugged him.
HMP Sudbury told the family their relative would have to go into isolation because of the rules breach and they would “not be able to visit Sudbury Prison again”.
Press agency Deadline News shared a redacted copy of the letter in an article that said a former convict and author had posted it on Twitter.
It reads: “Having reviewed the events of where the rule regarding physical contact between prisoner and a visitor was breached by a child accompanying you on your visit.
“I must inform you that _____ has now been located to an isolation pod for a period of 14 days.
“This is in order to prevent any potential cross contamination with regards to Covid-19.
“Due to this breach I am informing you that you and _____ will not be able to visit Sudbury again. The rule regarding physical contact is in place to keep everyone as safe as possible and as much as we appreciate that this may be difficult with children, safety is our ongoing priority.”
The article said the author had included in his Twitter post that the contact referred to in the letter was a child hugging his dad.
According to Deadline News, a Ministry of Justice source had said the letter was a “miscommunication” and the family was not indefinitely banned from the open prison.
In a statement sent to the Burton Mail, a Prison Service spokesman said: “Prison staff have worked hard to stop coronavirus spreading through jails and families are asked to maintain social distancing during visits to play their part in saving lives.
“The rules are there to keep everyone safe and ensure that families can continue to visit.
“We appreciate how difficult it can be to keep a toddler under control and apologise for the distress this letter has caused.”