Zoe Williams does well to highlight the absurdity of Gaie Delap’s case (This 77-year-old climate activist should never have been jailed – and now faces a Kafkaesque struggle to get out, 9 January). Recalling a 78-year-old woman convicted of a non-violent, peaceful protest to prison on a technicality makes a mockery of our justice system.
Irrespective of opinions on Delap’s activism and actions and whether she should have been given a custodial sentence in the first place, it’s clear that she has been unfairly punished by an electronic tag system that is unfit for purpose, and a judicial process that is farcically failing. And this should be of significant concern to James Timpson, the prisons minister and the chair of the recently announced Women’s Justice Board – a board that will have a remit to reduce the number of people in prison and make innovative use of technological solutions in community sentencing.
The use of electronic tagging is problematic and can be stigmatising. Furthermore, women experiencing poverty, without access to secure housing and reliable electricity can be at risk of recall if they are unable to recharge their electronic tags.
But it is the overuse of recall that is equally if not more worrying. Licence recalls increased by 44% from 2023 to 2024, with the huge majority of recalls relating to non-compliance, not reoffending. Decision-making around recalls is inconsistent and can vary significantly depending on the skills and experience of probation practitioners. And with a recalled prison population of more than 12,000 contributing to huge pressures on the prison system, it is impossible to argue that Delap’s situation is justifiable, reasonable or in the public interest in any way.Abbi AyersDirector of strategic development for the National Women’s Justice Coalition
• As a former barrister and judge, this article highlights for me the main shortcomings of the rigid view of sentencing found in our courts. Sentencing guidelines, precedent, the court of public opinion and the desire to set an example come before plain common sense. Gaie Delap, a person with high ideals and an unblemished record in her late 70s should have never been awarded a custodial sentence after a guilty plea for this offence. The offence may well have caused inconvenience to members of the public, but any punishment would have marked the offence and there was no reason why her word that she would not commit a further offence should not have been accepted. The government should have intervened before, since it was no fault of hers that its agent, Serco, failed to provide an appropriate bracelet, to secure her release. Rex Billingham Tunbridge Wells, Kent
• Why do Labour politicians turn from believers in radical change into cowards intimidated by the internet bullies and Tory press? How can they leave this poor 78-year-old woman in jail for doing exactly what they would have once envisioned themselves doing when younger? Throughout my life I have witnessed Labour fail to be radical, but this government is one of the weakest of them all. Ian TunnicliffHallin, Skye
• Zoe Williams is wrong to minimise the M25 climate action as “traffic disruption”. “Ambulance halting” and “NHS disrupting”, among other things, would be more accurate. It’s ridiculous that Gaie Delap is being kept in prison by Serco’s incompetence, but far from ridiculous that that’s where she finds herself. David ClearyLondon
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