Inmate sues over lack of exercise while in segregation

A lifer launched a High Court action for up to £50,000 damages yesterday over a complaint that he was not given a full hour of exercise in the open air each day while held in a jail's segregation unit.

Leslie Malcolm, 45, who says he was only given around 30 minutes on the 158 days he was detained at HMP Frankland in County Durham in 2007, is asking a judge in London to award him compensation against the Ministry of Justice.

His barrister, Phillippa Kaufmann, told Mr Justice Sweeney that the action by Mr Malcolm, who alleges "misfeasance" in public office and a breach of his human rights, was not "trivial".

She said it was a situation which persisted over a six-month period in the context of a segregation unit "with all the impoverishment of his surrounding conditions that goes with that".

The case also raised an issue not just for Mr Malcolm, but for other prisoners in segregation.

Mr Malcolm, who was jailed for life for rape in 1996, watched proceedings via video link from Wakefield prison in West Yorkshire where he is currently serving his sentence.

Ms Kaufmann said it was difficult to identify exactly what time Mr Malcolm had spent outside each day, but "averaging everything out", the best "guesstimate" was a "period of about 30 minutes or so".

Apart from the "short periods of time spent in the open air", the only other time she says he was able to leave his 10ft by 6ft cell was to shower across the hall, which did not involve exposure to the open air.

His allegations are being contested by the Ministry of Justice, which denies liability.

The case is expected to last for two days.