PRISONERS who win "outrageous" compensation claims should be forced to hand it over to their victims, an MP demanded today.
Conservative MP David Davies's call came after Michael Adebolajo suing of the prison serive |
Conservative MP David Davies has written to Justice
Minister Michael Gove calling for a change in the rules that allow
violent offenders to keep the cash they win.
The Monmouth MP wants taxpayer-funded payouts to be placed in so-called "escrow" accounts which are handled by a third party.
Convicts would then have to contact all those affected by their crime - inviting them to countersue for damages and legal costs.
Mr Davies's call came just days after revelations that two high profile killers are suing the prison service.
One
of fusilier Lee Rigby's killers, Michael Adebolajo, wants up to £20,000
because his teeth were knocked out by prison staff trying to restrain
him.
And Graham Coutts, who murdered a special
needs teacher with a pair of tights, is demanding up to £40,000 after he
was forced to change into a prison uniform before being taken to
hospital with chest pains.
Mr Davies said: "I'm appalled when I read about these prisoners putting in preposterous claims for compensation.
Adebolajo was convicted for the murder of fusiller Lee Rigby |
"A while back one
of my own constituents tried to jump over a 30-foot prison fence and
sued for the injuries he suffered. It's ridiculous.
Graham Coutts was convicted for the murder of teacher Jane Longhurst |
"Prisoners with little money have nothing to lose and everything to gain by bringing cases no matter how preposterous.
"I
understand the government robustly defends these claims and rightly so.
But this costs large sums of money and the final decision rests in the
hands of a judge. Whatever the ruling, the taxpayer loses every time."
The MP has written to Justice Minister Michael Gove calling for a change in the rules |
He added: "The
Ministry of Justice should continue to fight all claims but if it loses,
the money should not be handed straight over to the prisoner but
instead put into an account administered by a third party - a so-called
escrow account.
"Rather than paying money
directly to the recipient, the money is paid to an independent party who
will hand it over once the recipient has fulfilled their side of the
bargain.
"In this case, the prisoner would be
obliged to contact all of the victims of the offence for which they have
been convicted and invite them to countersue for the distress and any
material loss they suffered, along with their legal costs."
In
December 2014 it emerged that over the previous year the MoJ had paid
out £20million in compensation to prisoners, visitors and wardens -
equating to £53,000 per day.
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