Prisoner trapped on IPP sentence so desperate to be free that he renounces British citizenship

A prisoner sentenced to indefinite imprisonment that has been revoked has renounced his British citizenship and made a desperate plea to be deported, claiming it was his “only hope” for freedom.

Nicholas Bidar has been languishing without release for more than 17 years – almost a decade longer than the original eight-year minimum tariff – after being sentenced to a controversial prison sentence for public protection (IPP) at the age of 21.

He still languishes in a maximum security prison, despite the Parole Board recommending he be moved to open conditions and the Ministry of Justice calling on him to review his high-risk Category A status.

The man, now 38, has revealed he has given up hope of being released and rebuilding his life in Britain. The former British-Egyptian dual citizen has revoked his British citizenship and applied to be deported to Egypt, where he hopes to start over with his father.

Labor has vowed to speed up the removal of foreign criminals to save taxpayers money and free up desperately needed prison cells. Under the government’s Tariff Expired Deportation Scheme (TERS), foreign criminals are being considered for deportation after their minimum term has expired.

Mr Bidar was imprisoned at HMP Manchester, where it costs taxpayers more than £100,000 a year to hold a prisoner.

he said Independent: “I have lost all hope in the Parole Board. This is the only chance I have left. They continue to deport foreign nationals. I am here. I am costing you dearly. I want you to leave.”

He appealed to the Ministry of Justice, which has the authority to prevent his deportation, to support his deportation. If they refuse, they will become stateless and detained indefinitely.

Mr Bidar was given an IPP in 2008 for a series of robberies and resisting arrest using a weapon, and was later convicted for assaults in prison and a period in which he escaped custody.

But he says he has changed and adds:: “I do not pose a risk to any society, I accept what I did and I have served my time and I am not that person anymore, I am almost 40 now.”

Open-ended penalties were abolished in 2012, but not retroactively; Thousands of people already convicted remain stuck in prison without a release date.

The imprisonment was linked to 96 suicides in prison and was widely condemned; The UN described the punishments as “psychological torture”. But successive governments have rejected calls to remand the approximately 2,400 remaining IPP prisoners.

Mr Bidar became the first IPP prisoner to have his parole hearing held in public in 2024. He argued that he was a political prisoner because his category A status, as decided by the Ministry of Justice, prevented him from progressing to open conditions.

In a written decision, the panel acknowledged that Mr Bidar’s category A status was hindering his progress and called for “immediate action”. However, more than two years later, it is still classified as category A.

“My only hope now is to be deported,” he said. Independent, He added that the uncertainty of a prison sentence had a “tremendous impact” on his wellbeing and mental health.

“This is cruel,” he said, noting that other criminals were released one-third of their sentences under government measures to ease overcrowding.

“Some of us [IPP prisoners] I haven’t committed any crime in over ten years. “They will never, ever leave us.”

He continued: “It’s a shame that I have to give up my citizenship and leave everything, especially my family, but I will be free because otherwise I will die, they will never let me out.

“I have been in prison for 18 years, I am in category A. There is no law, no lawyer, nothing that can save me. Nobody can do anything. They have no power. I have no power.

“I’ve tried everything. So it’s the only hope, and I still think these people [the government] “He’ll still try to hold me.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Although we do not comment on individual cases, it is right that IPP sentences have been removed and that we have already taken action to support these offenders to move on with their lives.”