Thief Andrew Whittle was given an indeterminate IPP sentence of three years and four months in 2011 for a “horrific” offence, when he was just 33, but has never been released
Dartmoor Prison(Image: Getty Images)
A robber handed a three-year jail term for public protection in 2011 remains locked up 15 years on.
Andrew Whittle – now aged 48 – was imprisoned in 2011 for the ‘horrific’ robbery by a judge at Bolton Crown Court. The indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP) was set at three years and four months, yet Whittle has never been freed from that 40-month term.
IPPs were imposed between 2005 and 2012 and were designed for dangerous criminals whose offences didn’t warrant life sentences, featuring a minimum tariff followed by indefinite detention until the Parole Board considered the offender safe for release, but resulted in high rates of prolonged imprisonment, according to the Prison Reform Trust. While serving at HMP Dartmoor in 2024, Whittle was discovered on separate occasions with three mobile phones, including an iPhone and a Samsung device, plus two chargers.
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On 12 May, Plymouth Crown Court was told that Whittle made 58 calls from them to his brother and a female acquaintance, though none were for unlawful purposes. Judge Robert Linford was informed that Whittle – presently at HMP Fosse Way – has 22 convictions for 91 offences and pleaded guilty to eight charges relating to the possession and use of the phones, reports Plymouth Live.
Judge Linford stated: “In 2011 you were given an IPP sentence for public protection of three years and you have served over 15 years. While serving that sentence at Dartmoor you committed these offences. You know the rules about this.” The judge added: “I have some degree of understanding of your position. I am not really going to say much more about that.”
He did question whether Whittle had appealed the IPP sentence, stating he held his own views on IPP and ‘people that serve ferociously long periods in custody’. However, he confirmed he was compelled to hand down a further custodial sentence to Whittle for the phone offences.
He sentenced him to a total of 18 months behind bars, saying: “I cannot get any lower than that.” Whittle was also ordered to pay the victim surcharge of £187.
Back in 2011, Whittle, then aged 32, launched a savage attack on a Good Samaritan with a meat cleaver after she offered him a lift in her car, leaving her with head wounds requiring 20 stitches. Whittle, of Bolton, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon, and was handed a sentence of three years and four months as part of the IPP ruling at Bolton Crown Court.
HMP Dartmoor has not held prisoners since 2024, when it was shut down due to safety fears over radioactive radon gas. The HM Prison and Probation Service is now haemorrhaging £4 million per year on rent, rates and security for a prison that sits entirely empty.
Unless action is taken to allow Dartmoor to reopen and receive inmates once more, the prison service will continue haemorrhaging £4 million annually on a deserted facility until the lease expires in 2033, amounting to an estimated £32m over the remaining lease period.
