MARK LEECH FRSA
“I consider myself very lucky as Director General to have had you around, your place in penal reform is unparalleled, and I consider you not only a colleague but also a friend”
Sir Martin Narey, former Director General of HM Prison Service, now adviser to the Secretary of State for Justice
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Mark Leech, was born in Manchester, England in 1957.
He is an ex-offender who, prior to his release in 1995 from a sentence for armed robbery, served almost 20 years in 62 British prisons – from Inverness in the north of Scotland to Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight – his prison career was characterised by riots, roof-top protests and over 40 successful legal cases against the prison authorities; including several landmark challenges in the Supreme Court that changed British prison law.
While in prison Mark discovered a talent for writing and he was the first prisoner-columnist to write regular monthly feature articles on the prison system for The Guardian newspaper.
Mark also wrote three award-winning plays while in prison; The Facts Speak For Themselves a 90-minute BBC Radio 4 ‘Saturday Night Theatre’ directed by Ned Chaillet, won him the BBC Radio Drama Award.
Since his release thirty years ago he has become a prominent UK figure in the field of criminal justice and prison reform, making significant contributions to the understanding and improvement of the prison system.
Mark is the founder and former Chief Executive of the national award-winning charity Unlock the first national charity operated by successful ex-offenders established to positively influence prison service policies and drive political debate on reducing crime.
A welcome by-product of his expose published in The Independent newspaper, revealing how the vast majority of recommendations made by HM Prisons Inspectorate were being routinely ignored by prisons resulted, four months after publication, in a ground-breaking ‘Urgent Notification’ protocol being signed by the then Chief Inspector of Prisons and the Justice Secretary – ensuring Inspectorate recommendations resulted in published Action Plans that drove their public delivery.
Having lost many friends over the years to suicide in prison, in March 2024 Mark saw his 20-year campaign to bring real transparency to the subject of deaths in custody finally win through when Adrian Usher (appointed Prison and Probation Ombudsman in April 2023) agreed that the names and locations of those who die while in the custody of HM Prison and Probation Service should be made public within a week or so of their deaths – something no other Prison Ombudsman had ever previously agreed to do. Describing this Mark said: “of all the things I’ve achieved, to me, this transparency ranks as among the most important.”
Mark is the Chief Executive of Prisons Org UK which publishes (and he edits) the premier annual works on the prison system of England and Wales:
The Prisons Handbook, the definitive 1,400-page annual reference book on the penal system of England and Wales;
Converse, the largest circulation national monthly prisons newspaper;
The Cell Companion, the #1 bestselling guide to serving and surviving a prison sentence; and
Prison Law Index, the definitive annual guide to prison law cases and materials.
Mark Leech is also the Director of
The Institute of Prison Law, which delivers the critically acclaimed Certificate of Competency in Prison Law.
Throughout the last 40 years Mark Leech has been a vocal advocate for prison reform and his work has been recognised by the Royal Society of Arts, which awarded him a Fellowship for his contributions to the field.
Today Mark lives quietly with his partner and their three children amid the rice fields of beautiful northern Thailand and where, outside of work, his interests are in aviation; Mark is a qualified Helicopter Pilot.
“Just finished punishment for a roof-top protest at Long Lartin; a thoroughly offensive, dangerous and disruptive man.”
John Thompson, Governor, HMP Dartmoor 1985.
“One of the most sensitive, resourceful, humane, energetic, intelligent, dynamic and tenacious prisoners I have ever met”
Roger Kendrick, Governor HMP Glenochil 1997.
“Britain’s leading ex-offender expert on the policy and practice of the prison system”
Edward Fitzgerald KC, Head of Doughty Street Chambers, London
“The sanest, best-informed, commentator on prison issues”
Phil Wheatley CB, former Director General of the National Offender Management Service and former Director General of HM Prison Service
“Focused, tenacious, committed, Mark’s experiences have given him answers to questions other experts can only guess at”
Baroness Scotland QC, Attorney General for England and Wales