On 17 April, the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prison Reform Trust wrote a letter before action to the Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland. The letter sets out a proposed application for judicial review of the Secretary of State's response to the COVID-19 outbreak in prisoners across England and Wales.  

In particular, the Howard League pointed out that in spite of government announcements that low-risk prisoners would be temporarily released, the rate of release was too slow and too limited to make a meaningful difference to the prison population. The Prison Reform Trust similarly argued that the government's actions were "too little, too late". coviThe letter also sets out actions that the government could take to address the problem, including expediting the release of pregnant women and releasing all children in custody.  

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