The PM has said IPPs are set to end, but when will this happen and what’s the plan?
We join Roddy Russell after a busy summer for IPP campaigners. The new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised to end the injustice of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, with the government pledging to bring forward legislation to abolish the sentence ‘by the end of this parliament’. After years of campaigning, this marks a dramatic political shift. But asks Roddy, whose brother Rob has been serving an IPP sentence since 2009 and has never been released, what happens next? And does the government have a plan to finally free the more than 2,000 people still trapped by IPPs?
This announcement follows two major interventions by the United Nations on IPP sentences in 2026. In July, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that five IPP prisoners were being held arbitrarily, while the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture warned that the prolonged uncertainty and psychological deterioration associated with IPPs may amount to psychological torture. We hear from campaigners, lawyers and experts about what these findings mean and whether they will increase pressure on the UK government to act quickly and decisively.
Roddy also meets Professor Roddy Brett, a former UN policymaker, to understand how the United Nations can influence the UK when its findings are not legally binding. After years of shattered hopes, what will it take to make sure this latest political promise becomes a reality?
Read the opinion adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its 105th session, 23rd March–1st April 2026, concerning five IPP prisoners here:
Read the July 2026 Press Release from the UN Special Rapporteurs, concerning IPPs here:
Contributors in order of appearance:
Andy Burnham, Prime Minister, heard in archive
Alex Norris, Lord Chancellor, heard in archive
Richard Garside, Director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies
Bernadette Emerson, IPP campaigner and wife of Abdullahi “Mo” Suleman, who has been serving an IPP sentence since 2005
Dr Muin Boase, barrister at Great James Street Chambers
Joshua Rozenberg, Legal commentator
Dr Felicity Gerry KC, barrister at Libertas Chambers
Dr Alice Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, heard in archive
Roddy Brett, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Bristol
Nick Timothy, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, heard in archive
Production Credits:
Presenter: Roddy Russell | @1roddyRussell
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | @Melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge | @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
An Ear Worm Production for the Institute of Now
Get involved:
➕ Follow Trapped on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
🔎 Search #IPPScandal for more stories.
🗣️ Read more about the IPP campaign: UNGRIPP | www.ungripp.com | @UNGRIPP | IPP Committee In Action @ActionIpp | injustice_of_ipp
✔️ Like, follow and share this podcast to get people listening: knowledge is power and the more who know, the harder it is for injustice to take place.
✍️ Write to your MP and ask them to raise questions about IPPs in Parliament
⬇️ Download the Trapped series episode transcripts here: https://drive.google.com
","author_name":"The Institute of Now"}