Prison 'wrong' to destroy phone
A prison illegally destroyed an inmate's mobile phone, the High Court has ruled in a move which could lead to "significant" compensation.
The £200 phone was confiscated from prisoner Mark Coleman, from Wood Green, north London, while he was at Wayland Prison near Thetford, Norfolk, in 2006.
It was then destroyed in a prison training exercise.
Mr Coleman is due to seek compensation. The Prison Service said it would be appealing against the decision.
Mrs Justice Dobbs said prisons must return possessions on release.
Allowing the Prison Service to appeal against this decision is a waste of taxpayers money. It is a well established principle of English law that property remains with the owner and that in this case it is only being stored for the owner until he is in a position to legally have it in possession. To destroy a prisoner's private property in a training exercise is exceeding lawful authority.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
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