A terrified father has gone on the run after learning he would be sent back to prison indefinitely after claiming he had rekindled a relationship with the mother of his children.
Despite having already served his minimum term more than three times, Matthew Booth, 33, is wanted by police for a recall to prison for a crime he committed when he was just 15.
Under the terms of the indefinite prison sentence he was given, Matthew could be recalled without notice for breaching strict licensing conditions.
So far he has been taken back to prison three times. But now probation says he will have to return to prison again because they were told he restarted a relationship without telling them.
However, both Matthew and the woman in question did tell The independent that claims that they are back in a serious relationship are false.
The pair, backed by campaign group IPP Committee in Action, are calling on Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood to use new powers to intervene and cancel his recall.
Matthew, now a fugitive living in a tent, said, "Why am I going back? What crime have I committed? If I had committed a crime, I would understand. It won't happen, I would rather commit suicide."
Abigail Vernon, with whom he shares two young daughters, added: "He is still being punished for something he did when he was 15 years old.
"Every time he gets out and starts to rebuild his life, it's taken away from him."
IPP prison terms - which gave offenders a minimum jail term but no maximum - were scrapped in 2012 over human rights concerns, seven years after they were introduced by New Labor in a bid to crack down on crime.
Despite being widely condemned, including by the UN, it was not applied retroactively, leaving thousands imprisoned without a release date until the Parole Board deemed them safe for release.
When eventually released on licence, many IPP prisoners, like Matthew, find themselves on a 'merry-go-round' under strict conditions that can see them returned to prison indefinitely for minor infractions including missing a curfew, being drunk or, in some cases, missing a hospital appointment.
Of the 2,734 IPP prisoners still in custody, approximately 1,602 have been recalled and more than 700 have served more than ten years beyond their minimum terms.
At least 90 people have taken their own lives in prisons under hopeless imprisonment, with an estimated further 30 suicides in the community.
Matthew, from Bolton, endured a traumatic childhood and was given an IPP for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after he intervened in a fight at the age of 15 and hit someone on the head with a brick to avoid a protect friend. Later, in a separate fight, he jumped on someone's head.
When he was convicted at the age of 16, he was told to serve a minimum of two years and seven months.
Although he admits his crimes were serious, he said: 'It was my first prison sentence. I needed help, not a life sentence."
He served six years before his first release in 2013. That same year he met Abigail, now 29, and they had two daughters Ava, now 10, and Madison, seven.
The father was convicted of criminal damage in 2018 and sentenced to eight weeks, but due to his IPP sentence he was returned to prison indefinitely and had to serve a further seven months.
He was recalled two more times due to arrests that led to no further action, including once due to a complaint from a neighbor that he said was false and malicious. Each time the arrests resulted in him being held in custody for over a year longer.
He was last released on November 22 last year after serving a year and seven months, despite not being convicted of any further offences.
"I'm recalled every time without charge, without crime," he said. "How am I doing for years because someone said something about me?
'I can't. I can't go there again and miss my kids and not see my kids from prison. And just because they think I'm in a relationship, why would it take me two years?"
He said the prison sentence made him feel "I have no hope at all."
"It ruined my life," he continued. "Every time I go out and try to build something, it's taken away. I miss my children.
"My mental health is seriously poor. I'm worried about everything right now."
The father insists that his probation officer knew he and Abigail were dating and that they discussed it regularly during his appointments, but they took it slow and did not re-enter a committed relationship.
Abigail wants the requirement to report probation for any intimate partnerships removed from his license conditions. His parole paperwork claims this is necessary because he has abused her before, but she strongly denies this. He has never been convicted of domestic crimes.
"Any relationship he has, he has to let them know, but we are not in a relationship," she said, adding that the recall was "1,000 percent" unfair.
"These IPP sentences - there's just no end to them. Even when he's gone, he lives in fear of going back.
"It was a long time ago and he was still a child himself. He has been in this sentence for half his life."
Last week, former top British judge Lord Thomas described released IPP prisoners as "a puppet on a string" as they are vulnerable to malicious or unsubstantiated accusations, while That of the Independents campaign for all IPP prisoners to have their 'morally wrong' sentences reviewed.
Campaigner Shirley Debono, co-founder of the IPP Committee in Action, has called on the Justice Secretary to help Matthew by using new powers available from November 1 that will allow her to release a recalled IPP prisoner without approval of the Parole Board. Other recent reforms include reducing the minimum licensing period from ten to three years, but this will not help Matthew.
She said being taken back to prison indefinitely is "very traumatic" for the inmate and their families and they should have longer than the legal 28 days to appeal a decision.
"The reason they run is because they have to wrap their heads around it," she said. "They usually end up giving themselves up anyway, because it's not that nice to be on the run. But it is traumatic for IPPs if they are recalled."
A spokesperson for HM Prison and Probation Service said: "Offenders released on license are subject to strict conditions and as the public would rightly expect, they are recalled to prison if there are concerns about the safety of people in the community. "
