AN MP has demanded tougher action on inmates who attack prison officers after a convicted heroin dealer was let off with a fine of just £20 following a violent attack.
Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham made the call at a prisons policy debate in Parliament this week.
He raised the case of convicted heroin dealer and Kirklevington inmate Ian Paul Manuel who beat a prison officer – but was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £20 in compensation to the officer – something Mr Cunningham condemned as "totally inadequate" and called for "tougher measures".
He said: “Not only does a £20 fine offer no deterrent to the thugs who perpetrate these acts, but it gives the impression that prison staff are not being supported by the courts and the government in the way they should be."
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