''Inside Time'' is the

national newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports an ...

for prisoners and detainees distributed throughout the prison estate of the United Kingdom including

Immigration Removal Centre Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorized arrival, as well as those subject to deportation and removal until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a vi ...

s and special hospitals. The newspaper launched in 1990 and is published by Inside Time Limited, a

not-for-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

and a wholly owned subsidiary of the New Bridge Foundation, a national charity for prisoners founded in 1956. Editors and contributors involved with the newspaper include Noel "Razor" Smith,

Erwin James Erwin James Monahan (born 1957) is a columnist and convicted murderer who has written for ''The Guardian'' since 1998, writing under the name "Erwin James" whilst still incarcerated. He was released in August 2004 having served 20 years of a life ...

Terry Waite Terence Hardy Waite (born 31 May 1939) is an English humanitarian and author. Waite was the Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs for the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he ...

Jonathan Aitken Jonathan William Patrick Aitken (born 30 August 1942) is a British author, Church of England priest, former prisoner and former Conservative Party politician. Beginning his career in journalism, he was elected to Parliament in 1974 (serving unt ...

, and

Rachel Billington Lady Rachel Mary Billington (''née'' Pakenham; born 11 May 1942) is a British author, the third daughter of the 7th Earl and Countess of Longford; both parents were writers, as was her aunt, Christine Longford. Career Billington worked in ...

History

Founded by

Eric McGraw Eric McGraw (born Derek Campbell, 3 February 1945 – 18 April 2021) was a British publisher and prison reform activist who founded the prisoner's newspaper '' Inside Time'' in 1990. References 1945 births 2021 deaths British newspaper publ ...

, in December 1990 the first issue of ''Time'' (later to become ''Inside Time'') was distributed to all prisons and young offender institutions in the United Kingdom. The quarterly, eight page, newspaper was launched in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

and broadcast on

BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television Breakfast television, breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News (TV channel), BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from ...

from Grendon Prison. Ironically, the inspiration for a national newspaper for prisoners came from the Woolf Inquiry into the

Strangeways Prison riot The 1990 Strangeways Prison 'riot' was a 25-day prison protest and occupation at Strangeways Prison in Manchester, England. The protest began on 1 April 1990 when prisoners took control of the prison chapel, and quickly spread throughout most o ...

that erupted in April 1990. Both

Lord Woolf Harry Kenneth Woolf, Baron Woolf, (born 2 May 1933) is a British life peer and retired barrister and judge. He was Master of the Rolls from 1996 until 2000 and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2000 until 2005. The Constitutional R ...

and the late Judge Sir Stephen Tumin concluded that prisoners had inadequate opportunities to air their grievances. For that reason, from the very first issue, the newspaper adopted the mission: ‘a voice for prisoners’. Today, ''Inside Time'' is published monthly, with 56 pages and receives some 10,000 items of communication each year from prisoners, detainees and patients in special hospitals and their families. ''Inside Time'' also provides a website that has more than 400,000 unique visitors each month. Inside Time Limited is a not-for-profit organisation run under the auspices of the New Bridge Foundation.

Special supplements

''Inside Time'' also publishes: *''Inside Information'' – a comprehensive guide to prisons and prison related services; the book is provided free of charge to all prison libraries. *''Inside Poetry'' – a collection of poems written by people in prison. Each year a new volume is provided free of charge to all UK prison libraries. *''Inside Justice'' – a division of ''Inside Time'' that investigates potential

miscarriages of justice A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...

. It is currently funded by charitable donations from the

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is a registered charity founded in England in 1961. It is one of the larger independent grant-making foundations based in the UK, funding organisations which aim to improve the quality of life for people and communit ...

, the Newsum Charitable Trust, and the Roddick Foundation.

References

External links

* Publications established in 1990 1990 establishments in England Newspapers published in England Prison charities based in the United Kingdom Prison writings {{UK-newspaper-stub