Joy for women prisoners as Clarke defeated

It is not too often the justice secretary Ken Clarke is criticised as being too authoritarian, however this was the case at a recent High Court hearing where it was decided that Clarke was wrong in trying to stop women being allowed time out of jail to see their children.

The ruling came about because two female prisoners challenged decisions made by Clarke who had said they should be unable to take "child care resettlement leave". Mrs Justice Lang ruled the justice secretary had misinterpreted policy in a way which was incompatible with human rights legislation and which did not consider individual prisoners and their individual needs.

The child care resettlement leave is available to those prisoners who have sole caring responsibility for any child under the age of 16. It enables them to spend up to three days and nights at home as long as certain conditions are met.

Was the judge right to overrule Ken Clarke on this? It's a contentious subject, but anything which introduces the term human rights at the moment is guaranteed to divide opinion. Which side of this particular fence are you on? Tell me what your views are.

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