Overview
- Justice Secretary David Lammy confirmed the payment to Fuad Awale, with the Ministry of Justice saying the sum was mandated by the court after the department contested the case.
- Mrs Justice Ellenbogen ruled in September 2024 that denying Awale association in a close supervision centre breached his right to private life under Article 8.
- Awale, serving life for a 2011 double murder and later taking a prison officer hostage, had not mixed with other inmates since March 17, 2023 while held at HMP Woodhill.
- Taxpayers will cover £234,000 in legal costs in addition to £7,500 compensation, figures disclosed in Lammy’s 29 December letter to shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick.
- The government says it remains committed to the ECHR but is reviewing the convention’s application, with an assessment of Jonathan Hall KC’s recommendations including a possible appeal and operational reforms.