General Chat

I agree with Roxanne. Don't agree with payouts but, had these cases gone to court, you could add a few noughts to the figure of £700k - the payouts as they stand are the preferred option, odious as they may be!

I don't agree with the compensation but two wrongs don't make a right! There are laws that have to be followed ....the prison didn't follow them, they broke the law. Beryl x

There was no need for this,If they had been treated for their addiction In gaol, In a humane way. Just because someone is a criminal does not mean they should be treated in such a disgusting way. the payouts were ridiculous and could have been avoided.

I am not digging at anyone in particular but there must be many to whom the computer and genes, is an addiction........wonder if THAT would qualify for cold turkey payouts? Bob

See THE SUN today? The so-called cold turkey bloke who got nearly £4000 DIDNT actually go cold turkey at all; he lied. Well my husband was made redundant recently and we cant afford to buy our kids expensive things this Christmas, makes me think if we were druggie scum who go around mugging old people, we'd be better off.

A drug addict can receive help to wean him off drugs (methadone) or a clinic (if they can get in one ). An alcoholic can get extra money to fuel his addiction . I am a smoker . Is anybody giving me free money to fund my addiction - no i have to go to work to pay for my habit and thats what they should do . I dont want to offend anybody on here but we are all given a choice . Why should tax payers pay for all this because these idiots made really bad choices. This is an illness you may say , well i for one agree cos im absoutely SICK to death of my taxes paying towards this minority of people especially those that are in prison . After all they are not in there for nothing.

Do I feel sorry for them having to go cold turkey to give up drugs. No. I feel sorry for their victims. Where are their human rights? I assume they were in prison because they had broken the laws of this country (surely all 198 of then couldn't have been innocent). One of them, a life long burgular, is going to use his £4,000 compensation to become a locksmith so it's reported. You couldn't make it up could you? Jean.

Maybe there will be more effort not to 'miss people out', Bob.

re-posted, from Lost li'l cousins thread I think that the gist of it was............ new prisoners are supposed to get seen by the M.O., and their needs assessed..............these prisoners were ''Missed'' out, and so were ''subject to inhumane treatment'' while treatment for their addictions was temporarily withheld..........and to avoid a costly series of court cases , they were settled '' Out of Court'...........and If THAT isn't setting a PRECEDENT I dont know what is........ Bob

Well it seems I'm in a minority here. I think it's wrong to force people to do 'cold turkey' if they are already on medication to help them off the addiction, after all the addiction was probably what got them into prison in the first place, isn't it only fair that people should be allowed to carry on taking medication as part of rehabilitation? Forcing them to stop is not only dangerous but totally inhumane. I agree they should seek compensation, what a complete cock-up by the prisons, everyone is entitled to treatment no matter what its for whilst your in prison, supposing a sex offender was having treatment for sex offending and they then were put in prison, I bet everyone would be up in arms about them having there rehab stopped just because they were inside. It works the same no matter what the crime, everyone in this country is entitled to treatment for health and well being, it shouldn't be withdrawn just because they spend time inside, human rights count in all cases, you can't pick and choose who gets a pay out. Gillie.

Were the jails anywhere near empty in the 'good old days'? I'm not saying that I agree with the payouts, but Tony and Cherie are in no way personally or solely responsible and there is something about the recipients being forced to go 'cold turkey' which is not the same as refusing treatment.

Absolute disgrace. What a mockery this makes of the Human Rights Act which was introduced following the Nazi atrocities. In total 197 are going to get compensated. It was 198, one died. I wonder from what! Approx. £700,000 of our money will be shared out and no doubt go to feed their habit. It's like giving an alcoholic the keys to an off licence. They will use that money to fund their addiction and when it's gone they will either be dead or back in jail again. Prisons have detox programmes where they are offered substitute drugs. Those who refuse treatment do so because the prison system is awash with illegal drugs which they can get their hands on anyway. Another case of the lunatics running the asylum. This once great nation of ours is being systematically eroded from within. I pray to God that we waken up before it's too late. Aileen xxx

You have Cherie and Tony Blair to blame for this Human Rights Act nonsense. Every single person I have spoken to has said the same..... absolutely ridiculous, & thats the printable version! If there is an addiction to be treated, then that should be done under the supervision of a doctor whilst the inmate is inside. Otherwise - tough

lets go back to the good old days of bread and water, locked up for 24hrs a day with a slop bucket! then lets see how many criminals would be in jail. lol sorry but i think they have it far too cushy i know of pensioners that dont have what prisoners get inside. and this business about them suing - well that is the last straw. i work hard for my pay and then the tax they take goes on this sort of thing! arggggggggggggggggggg tina x

if you chose to become a drug user and you chose to commit a crime to pay for your drug habits then you face the consequences. Even if it does mean cold turkey.

Hello Mrs P. It's nice to be on the same wavelength as you. I hope I don't sound too 'preachy' or like a 'know-all' on your thread.

Felicity u and me have the same veiws it seems..xxxxxxxxx(on my thread aswell i mean) i didnt know how to put what i wanted too on here earlier...and u have done it for mexxx

I'm not sure that the huge payouts are justified, but it is a fact that going 'cold turkey' can be life-threatening for addicts. There are better ways to deal with the issue, even for those in jail.

Unbelievable! xx

Cheers Val. I did not believe it...