PRT comment: Alex Chalk announced as new justice secretary

Reacting to the appointment of Alex Chalk KC MP as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Pia Sinha, Chief Executive of the Prison Reform Trust said:

“We welcome the appointment of Alex Chalk as the new justice secretary. He brings vital experience to the role as a former prisons and probation minister, a member of the justice committee and criminal barrister. It’s experience he should bring to bear in urgently reviewing much of the damaging legacy of his predecessor. An reassessment of flawed legislation on parole currently before parliament must be a priority, as should a review of wider changes to the parole system already in place. The new justice secretary will also need to deal urgently with a staffing and capacity crisis in our prisons. And he should revisit the inadequate response of the government to the justice committee’s authoritative report on the IPP sentence.

“It’s a tall order, but a more measured and calm approach to criminal justice would go a long way to restoring some hope to our beleaguered prison system.”