Prison works, it is said. To what end, is the perennial question. Those who believe our jails should strike an appropriate balance between punishment and reforming behaviour feel beleaguered. They will be grateful for the achievement of that campaigner for civilised practice within our prisons, Frances Crook. For when the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, sought to enhance his status with rightwing Tories by banning the sending of books to prisoners, claiming the measure would stem the flow of drugs into prisons, the chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform launched a campaign to resist him. Celebrities and authors gave support, and the propaganda battle was easily won, for even disinterested parties saw the absurdity of Grayling’s position. But there was much to do to overturn the illiberal edict. On Friday, after a judicial review fought by Barbara Gordon-Jones, a life sentence prisoner at Send jail in Surrey, the ban was overturned. “A book may not only be one which a prisoner may want to read but may be very useful or indeed necessary as part of rehabilitation,” ruled Mr Justice Collins. Many voices were raised, but with the public campaign Crook led the choir.
