LETTER:The prisons policy, the judge and his verdicts

From Ms Philippa Hutchinson

Sir: How sad I feel on hearing the news that Judge Tumim is to stand down as Inspector of Prisons, as a result of the decision by the Home Secretary, Michael Howard, not to renew his contract. This decision is apparently due to the challenging and critical nature of the reports that Judge Tumim has made over the past eight years on HM prisons, and the quality of the service they have, or have not, delivered - reports that have been critical because of the honesty of the man reporting the facts as they are and not as other people would like them to be perceived.

How many other people are there, like myself, who believe that of the two, it is the wrong man who is going?

Yours sincerely,

PHILIPPA HUTCHINSON

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27 May