Government prepares to scale back prisoner voter rights

The government looks set to ignore a European Court ruling by refusing to give tens of thousands of prisoners, jailed for four years or less, the right to vote.

MPs have expressed strong opposition to the idea and the BBC understands that ministers are planning to give the vote only to inmates serving a year or less.

The director of Prison Reform Trust Juliet Lyon told the BBC the vote should be seen as prisoners fulfilling a civic responsibility.