Ministry of Justice facing legal action over prisons
But the justice secretary is sticking by a decision to stop visits
Seven families are taking legal action against the Ministry of Justice, after we revealed potentially thousands of children have been cut off from parents in prisons for more than a year.
They say replacing physical visits with limited video calls may have breached the right to a family life, under the European Convention on Human Rights.
But the justice secretary has stuck by a decision to stop visits, saying it has "saved lives".
Robert Buckland said he made a "choice" to protect prison staff and visitors during the pandemic, and he believes that was the "right choice."
However, Hull MP and shadow justice minister Karl Turner thinks the decision to curb visits may have led to more mental health problems among prisoners.
He's worried that could risk a rise in reoffending.
"When prisoners are treated that way, locked up for 23 hours, that has a detrimental effect" Mr. Turner said. "When they do get out of prison, at some point in the future, they could be a massive drain on society."
Campaign group The Howard League for Penal Reform also share Mr. Turner's concerns, adding that the tough conditions prisoners have been kept in could tear families apart.
Chief executive Frances Crook said particularly men could struggle to reintegrate with their families after being kept in "solitary confinement" for so long.
She predicts marriages could break down and more prisoners could turn back to a life of crime because of the intense pressures on their mental wellbeing.
The Ministry of Justice said its decisions have saved lives.