The Justice Secretary has said it was “unacceptable” that the man who threw acid over television presenter Katie Piper was able to evade monitoring and is suspected to have fled the country after being released on licence. Officers are seeking Stefan Sylvestre, 34, after he was recalled to jail for breaching his licence conditions, and said last week that “inquiries undertaken so far indicate” he left the UK on August 2.
Sylvestre was given a life sentence in 2009 for the acid attack on Ms Piper that left her permanently scarred. He was released on licence in 2018.
In a session of justice questions in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Labour highlighted the case as an example of the Probation Service being “so run down it can no longer control offenders”, and called for a Government apology. Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis defended the Probation Service, but said of Sylvestre’s case: “It’s not acceptable and it shouldn’t have happened.”
Labour shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said: “The Probation Service isn’t finding prisoners jobs because understaffing is at crisis point, with the service now facing a shortage of nearly 1,700 officers, according to the MoJ’s (Ministry of Justice) own figures. This allows serious offenders, like Katie Piper’s acid attacker, to evade monitoring and escape abroad. Will the minister apologise to victims, including Katie Piper, for leaving the Probation Service so run down it can no longer control offenders?”
Mr Lewis responded: “I think our probation officers across the country work hard every day to not only keep communities safer, but to help prisoners rehabilitate and get into communities. But he’s also right… to highlight there are examples of situations that are not acceptable. The Katie Piper example being a very current one.
“It is not acceptable to have that situation. I am determined… to do everything I can, working with my ministerial team and the brilliant teams across probation, to ensure that these situations do not happen in the future. It’s not acceptable and it shouldn’t have happened.”
Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts asked the Secretary of State to rule out cuts to the Probation Service. And she warned that the loss of staff risked the service’s effectiveness and public safety.
Mr Lewis responded: “I recognise the challenge across prisons and probation. Obviously making sure that we have the right teams, the staff with experience as well to be able to work with people, is important to dealing with preparing people and avoiding reoffending, which is so important to the safety of our communities.
“I am very focused on this. We are actually recruiting people across HMPS (His Majesty’s Prison Service) at the moment, and I look forward to making sure that we are able to support people across the country.”
The situation inside prisons also came under scrutiny, with Labour warning of “uncontrolled violence” and asking when the Government would “get back control”. “Uncontrolled violence in prisons is a key reason officers leave their jobs nearly as quickly as Tory chancellors,” Mr Reed said.
“This damages supervision of prisoners, leaving victims’ families sickened to see Stephen Lawrence’s killer bragging about using a mobile phone in his cell. When will the Government get back control of our prisons?”
Mr Lewis replied: “We know there is a link between staffing levels and prison violence, which is why we’re continuing to strengthen the front line. We’ve seen an increase in prison officers from under 18,000 to almost 22,000, that’s some 3,770 more full-time officers.
“And he’s also highlighted a couple of incidents and I agree they are completely unacceptable. That’s why I’ve initiated a review to ensure that that kind of situation can’t happen again.”
Conservative MP Gordon Henderson (Sittingbourne and Sheppey) called on the Justice Secretary to launch an “urgent review into how the pension age of prison officers can be reduced”. “Expecting prison officers to work in such a violent environment until they are 68 years old is wholly unacceptable,” he said.
Mr Lewis said: “All prison officers who joined the service certainly after April 2001 go through and have to pass an annual fitness test. The service and the prisons themselves can benefit from people with that level of experience, and they do play an important part as key members of the team.”
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea
