Britain’s most dangerous Islamist terrorists will be required to develop “positive personal goals” as part of the government’s attempt to reprogramme them psychologically in prison, according to documents leaked to The Sunday Times.
Under the scheme convicted terrorists placed in “separation centres” for continuing to pose a national security threat from behind bars will be required to inform on other inmates as part of their “proactive positive behaviour”.
Each inmate will receive a “care and management plan” that will be reviewed every three months by at least seven experts, including a psychologist, chaplain and lawyer who will assess their behaviour, extremist views and “continued ability to influence others”.
“Separation centre prisoners should have an individualised care and management plan which sets out realistic, achievable targets, while also taking into account the complex, ideological/political nature of some of the risks that need to be targeted,” one leaked Ministry of Justice document says.
Along with expressing a “positive contribution to wing atmosphere, relations and peers”, inmates will also be assessed on their “collaborative approach to expressing concerns and resolving disagreements”.
The disclosure comes after the justice ministry announced this month the opening of a separation centre at HMP Frankland, a high security prison in Co Durham, as the first of three units to house the UK’s 28 “most dangerous and radicalised extremists”.
A prison official this weekend expressed doubts about the separation centres.
“There’s obviously some scepticism about the extent to which Islamists will pretend to have improved their mindset simply to be allowed back into the main prison population,” he said.