My brother’s been in jail for 14yrs for stealing a PHONE… Burnham is freeing killers but not him

THE sister of a man who’s been locked up for 14 years for stealing a mobile phone due to a legal loophole has urged Andy Burnham to finally let him go free. Dad Thomas White was jailed for a minimum of two years in 2012 as part of the now-abolished Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) scheme after taking the device from two Christian missionaries during a street robbery while drunk. Clara White with her brother Thomas’s son Kayden Credit: Times Media Ltd Thomas White with mum Margaret and sister Clara (right) Credit: Clara White Clara with David Blunkett, who serves as a life peer in the House of Lords Credit: Clara White It was the “final straw” after years of petty crimes, but four months after he was locked up, IPPs – designed to ensure certain offenders could only return to the community if a Parole Board officially certified they were no longer a threat – were scrapped. But the abolishment wasn’t retroactive, meaning Thomas, 43, is among 2,329 IPP lags convicted of often non-violent crimes stuck with their Catch-22 sentence, without a maximum term, fearing they’ll never be freed. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! New Prime Minister Burnham has put sorting the overcrowded prison system at the forefront of his agenda – with Labour’s early release scheme desperately looking to free up jail space. This could see controversially cutting short the terms of serious offenders – including two of the teens convicted over the death of PC Andrew Harper in 2019. Thomas with his son Kayden, who is now in the custody of his mum Margaret Credit: Clara White Margaret with Clara and Thomas as children Credit: Clara White More than 70,000 prisoners have been let out of jail under the scheme – but since taking office Burnham has vowed to keep the most serious offenders, such as rapists, behind bars. Killers convicted of manslaughter however are not exempt – so could walk free. He has ordered Ministry of Justice-led reviews into the early release programme, which has been paused until October, as well as IPPs. Clara, 44, from Manchester, told The Sun: “It has to be a matter of urgency. Most read in The Sun “The Prime Minister should go even further. He should get rid of this (retroactive IPPs), let this sentence be gone once and for all.” She added: “What really is this review? It’s all about looking to ease the prison crisis, it’s not about reviewing it for humanity’s sake. “These IPP prisoners and their families have had their lives stolen and it might be too late.” Heartbreakingly, due to the indefinite nature of his sentence and severely deteriorating mental health, Thomas was barred from seeing his son Kayden, who turns 17 in November, for more than a decade – before they were finally reunited in May 2024 following an intervention by former Home Secretary Lord David Blunkett. Thomas began believing he was Jesus Christ while serving his sentence in Norwich Prison in 2016 Credit: Getty Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for a review into Labour’s early prison release scheme Credit: PA Blunkett had originally introduced the IPPs but later condemned them. On seeing his dad for the first time since he was a baby at HMP Manchester, Kayden, then 14 – who is in the full custody of Thomas’ mum Margaret – jumped up and hugged his dad, with the embrace lasting several minutes. Clara called the reunion a “victory”, and said “our prayers have been answered”, but admits there’s a long way to go. The dad-of-one is currently one of 2,329 such inmates stuck in limbo in prisons across the UK, waiting to be deemed fit to return to society – with official data figures showing 96 IPP lags have taken their own lives in prison, reports The Times. Frustratingly, they must have their progress reviewed through offending behaviour programmes – but are often pushed to the back of the queue in favour of inmates who have clearer release paths. But Clara says Thomas and many other IPP inmates have become so institutionalised and mentally unstable due to no end in sight over many years, they struggle to engage. Clara, who became an ordained pastor last year, said: “You can tell an IPP in a prison a mile off. “Just look for the most frail one and look at the one that’s got no soul in the eyes.” PC Andrew Harper was killed on the job in 2019 Credit: PA Two of PC Harper’s killers, Albert Bowers (left) and Jessie Cole, could be released early Credit: The Sun Referring to Thomas, she said: “If he doesn’t die by suicide, his body will shut down. His mind’s already shut down.” Thomas has been shipped to 13 different prisons during his time inside – and in 2016 had a breakdown, resulting in him believing he was Jesus Christ. While speaking on the phone to Clara and their mum Margaret he would often begin reciting Bible scripture and speaking in Roman numerals. For a period, he’d distanced himself from the family, which coincided with spending weeks at a time in segregation, but on resuming visits, they were shocked to find he’d grown out his hair and had a full beard, was wearing a makeshift tunic, made from bed sheets, and was weighing an estimated seven stone. Margaret had to ask prison staff which one her son was, his change in appearance had been so drastic. Clara said: “She picked his chin up and she identified my brother by his eyes.” Horrified, from that point the family began to publicise his cause and that of other IPP inmates, including working with former Tory MP for Bury North James Daly. “The state has shown brutality at its highest with the IPPs,” she said. “It’s not talked about. It was abolished in 2012, but these prisoners are out of sight, out of mind.” Overtime, Thomas has developed severe psychosis and paranoid schizophrenia, including leading him to attempt setting himself alight. As a result, in recent months, he has been moved to a psychiatric hospital in Northamptonshire – with Clara travelling 160 miles from Manchester to see him. Alopecia has left large patches of hair missing, while one of his eyebrows is almost completely gone. She said: “I sat on his chair with him and I held him. And he was trying not to show the staff his tears and I was wiping his tears and I said, ‘what’s wrong? Tell me’. “He couldn’t connect the tears to the feeling of emotion and he couldn’t actually tell me. Then he met me with biblical scripture. “The hospital says that he uses that as a shutting down mechanism. But the way I see it, he uses that to save his bloody life.” Clara says she lies in bed at night having “flashbacks” to how “hopeless” Thomas seemed during that last visit, and hasn’t been able to bring herself to see him again. She said due to Thomas not engaging with psychiatrists at the hospital, the family have been told he will soon be moved back into a 14th different prison. It could be any day now. “They may as well say there’s no cure for your brother. So we’re going to send him back now,” she said. Clara, who grew up with three siblings in poverty in Manchester’s Moss Side, said her Thomas had begun getting involved in petty crime from the age of 12, beginning with shoplifting and stealing bicycles. From 2004 onward he accumulated a record of 16 convictions for theft and robbery. After robbing the mobile phone in early 2012, aged 28, his convictions totted up triggering the “dangerousness” clause in the justice system at the time resulting in the IPP. “These men don’t know if they’re going to live or die – not all of them are going to cross the finish line, they’re not all going to survive this, and my brother’s certainly not excluded.” A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “It is right that these sentences were abolished, and as the IPP annual report shows, support has significantly improved for these offenders, with greater access to rehabilitation and mental health support. We are now looking at what more can be done. “As we have set out, the Justice Secretary is reviewing reforms to these unjust sentences.” Comment now