Raab’s new Bill blocks prisoners’ ‘time wasting’ claims

PRISONERS who make spurious compensation claims under human rights laws face fresh curbs after officials successfully blocked cases over the lack of meal-time bananas, spiders in cells and hair clippers.

Dominic Raab, the Justice Secretary, said his new British Bill of Rights would make it harder for prisoners to bring suspect claims by introducing a “permission” stage to stop them at first base. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) revealed that in the past year it had already successfully challenged more than 1,700 bogus legal claims, saving the taxpayer £58 million in spurious bids by prisoners to get compensation.

Among the cases was a criminal who claimed he was being subject to torture under human rights legislation after finding a spider in his cell.

Another prisoner alleged he broke his ankle from slipping on a wet prison floor. CCTV footage revealed he actually fell while running away from the prison canteen after stealing a pasty and jumping over two “wet floor” signs.

A third offender claimed his human rights were being abused under the Human Rights Act as prison staff had stopped providing him with bananas which meant his food was ‘inedible’.

A fourth claimed a breach of article eight, human rights to a family life, for failure to provide a prisoner with hair clippers for a period of five months. The claim was struck out without hearing on the basis of being without merit.

Mr Raab said: “These trivial compensation claims clog up the justice system and waste hard-working taxpayers’ money. Our new Bill of Rights will restore some common sense and fairness to the justice system.” The new permission stage under the Bill will create a filter for judges to assess the validity of a claim before it goes to a full hearing, allowing courts to weed out those that are trivial, opportunistic and baseless.

The MoJ said every claim was investigated and where fraud was suspected, prisoners were prosecuted, and their dishonesty factored in as they worked towards release.

In cases where claims are upheld, the Government seeks to redirect litigation damages to their victims and the courts if they have any outstanding debts. Since 2020, around £400,000 from over 500 prisoners has been redirected, with 60 per cent of this money going to victims.

Among other cases was a prisoner who falsely claimed £3,600 worth of clothing had gone missing in the laundry, including more than 100 pairs of Armani boxer shorts. After proceeding to court he received £260, the true value of the clothing lost.

A fourth claimed the MoJ was guilty of torture because the prison service had restricted the number of toilet rolls.