PRISON reform campaigners are urging ministers today to resentence people who were imprisoned under a now abolished decree that was “irredeemably flawed.”

The sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) was introduced under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to detain people in prison who posed a “significant risk of causing harm to the public.”

Following criticism of the sentence and its operation, it was reformed in 2008 and abolished in 2012.

In total, 8,711 individuals received an IPP sentence and almost 3,000 people remain in prison.

A report by the justice committee today has found that the Ministry of Justice’s action plan for reducing the size of the IPP prison population lacks a “clear strategic priority and ownership,” as well as operational detail and performance measures.

It outlines challenges prisoners face, including access to mental health services, as well as raising concerns about the transparency surrounding programme evaluations.

The report also identified the parole process to be “ineffective and posing a significant barrier to progress” for IPP offenders.

The committee argues that the government needs to devote far greater energy to tackling the “recall merry-go-round,” with better efforts to successfully integrate IPP prison leavers into society.

It recommends that the government conducts a “resentencing exercise” for all IPP-sentenced individuals.

Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Andrea Coomber said: “A vast majority [of IPP prisoners] have been held behind bars for far longer than the sentencing judge ever could have intended, without support and at immense cost to their physical and mental health.

“Those released have been living under a shadow, with the threat of recall always present.

“There is cross-bench consensus that this must change, but successive governments have done nothing to address the enduring injustice.”

Ms Coomber said that the cruellest aspect of IPP sentences is “how they offer false hope.”

She said: “Ministers must ensure that this report from the justice committee does not end up doing the same.

“It is time to end this shameful chapter and enable people to rebuild their lives.”

Centre for Crime and Justice Studies director Richard Garside welcomed the report as a first step in resolving the “intolerable situation” IPP prisoners face.

“It now requires swift and sustained action by the government to bring to an end, once and for all, this shameful episode in recent sentencing history,” he said.

The MoJ has been contacted for comment.