LEGAL EAGLE: Medomsley Detention Centre compensation claims can still be pursued

You may have seen in the news over the past few weeks that a further former prison officer at Medomsley Detention Centre has been found guilty of misconduct in a public office and one charge of indecent assault against former inmates.

This comes after five former prison officers – Christopher Onslow, John McGee, Alan Bramley, Kevin Blakeley and Brian Johnson Greenwell – were sent to prison for abusing former inmates following three separate Crown Court trials in 2019.

We at Ben Hoare Bell LLP have represented more than 500 survivors of Medomsley Detention Centre regarding claims for compensation and continue to do so. Our firm was part of a steering group influential in the development of the Medomsley Detention Centre Physical Abuse Settlement Scheme set up by the Ministry of Justice in 2020 to provide compensation to survivors of physical abuse suffered by staff members at Medomsley Detention Centre and reopened earlier this year.

The scheme originally ended on 1 January 2022. What this meant was the Ministry of Justice would not make any offers of settlement in respect of claims alleging historic abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre where the claim for compensation was received by the Ministry of Justice after 1 January 2022.

However, the Ministry of Justice confirmed earlier in 2022 that it remains committed to ensuring those who have not yet advanced their claims have the opportunity to do so and after further consideration they decided the compensation scheme would be reopened with immediate effect.

Under the terms of the scheme former detainees are compensated if they have suffered physical abuse committed by any member of staff who was employed at Medomsley during the period they were detained. The scheme operates outside of the Civil Courts with a tariff of compensation awards dependent on the length of the period of detention. There is also a provision in the scheme to compensate for a lasting physical and/or psychological injury.

The Physical Abuse Settlement Scheme has afforded the opportunity for survivors of the brutal regime at Medomsley to be compensated for the abuse they suffered. Whilst we appreciate compensation will not heal the physical and mental scars of our clients, we believe the scheme to be a significant acknowledgement of the pain and suffering caused to the survivors of Medomsley which has gone some way to providing some comfort to those who were abused. We are pleased that the Ministry of Justice reopened the scheme to allow more former inmates of Medomsley who missed out on the original scheme the opportunity to be compensated for the abuse they suffered.

We would encourage anyone who has not yet pursued a compensation claim to do so as soon as possible.

If you were abused at Medomsley Detention Centre and are interested in pursuing a claim, please contact our specialist solicitors Andrew Freckleton or Richard Hardy on 0191 565 3112 or by email to [email protected]