CONVICTS ‘MUST GET THE VOTE’

CONVICTS ‘MUST GET THE VOTE’

Wednesday November 24,2010

By Martyn Brown

EUROPEAN judges last night ordered Britain to change the law to allow prisoners the right to vote.



They gave the Government just six months to comply.

The European Court of Human Rights said the UK’s failure to end its total ban had violated international law.

PM David Cameron has said the thought of giving prisoners the vote makes him “physically ill” but that the Government has no choice.

In the Commons, Labour’s Steve McCabe said the move was “simply unacceptable” and a concession to the Liberal Democrats.

But Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said giving prisoners the vote will help them prepare for life outside jail.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled against Britain’s blanket ban in 2004 and governments have since been considering how to comply.

Reports suggest prisoners with long sentences could still be excluded or judges could withhold the right to vote at the time of sentencing.