Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on the defeat of the Government’s prison book ban in the courts said: 

“The ban on sending books to prisoners was always an absurd policy. It had nothing to do with punishing and reforming prisoners but was an example of David Cameron’s Government’s sloppy policy making. This is a victory for all those who campaigned against the ban and the Government should abandon the ludicrous policy with immediate effect. 

“What’s more, the absurdity of this policy has been exposed by judicial review, the very mechanism Chris Grayling is trying to neuter with his Criminal Justice and Courts Bill. Judicial review is a critical constitutional tool by which unlawful actions by governments are exposed. The Tory-led Government’s shameful attack on judicial review would insulate them from challenge, place them above the law and prevent injustices from being rectified.”