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TORY Justice Secretary Chris Grayling came under pressure yesterday to lift his prison book ban for Christmas from campaigners who warned his cruel policy could cause suicides.
Authors joined activists in Santa hats to chuck the book at Mr Grayling at a demonstration outside the Ministry of Justice.
Their protest came on the eve of today’s deadline for the minister to decide whether to appeal against the High Court’s ruling that his book ban is illegal.
Mr Grayling had insisted it was “misleading” to claim there was a book ban, saying that prisoners could order books from Amazon.
But Mr Justice Collins ruled it was unlawful to stop books being sent into prison by friends and family.
Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Frances Crook said she hoped “common sense would prevail” and Mr Grayling is persuaded not to use taxpayers’ cash to contest the ruling.
“The most important thing is that they implement the change immediately so that people can get gifts over Christmas,” she told the Star.
“Being locked in a cell for three weeks is very distressing and a book can literally save a life.”
And she warned: “If they don’t implement the court ruling, if people die because they are lonely and afraid and miserable in their cells, locked up for weeks on end, the Ministry of Justice decision-making is responsible for that.”
Mr Grayling also came under fire from Jonathan Robinson, an inmate-turned-author who won praise from the Tory for his prison diary, titled In It.
In a review, the Justice Secretary said he “read the book with interest and have given it also to Jeremy Wright, my prison minister.”
But Mr Robinson, who spent 17 weeks inside in 2011, condemned Mr Graylig for making reoffending more likely.
He told the Star: “There wasn’t really any rehabilitation in prison.
“It’s a big warehouse basically, which is a big factor in why Britain has the highest reoffending rates in Europe.
“The recent book ban by the government just made things worse.”
The Ministry of Justice yesterday refused to reveal whether it would launch an appeal against the High Court ruling.
