John Hirst: Voting 'a human right for prisoners'

Former prisoner John Hirst says prisoners should be able to vote because it is their human right.

Mr Hirst, who was convicted of manslaughter in 1980, launched a legal action against the government over the ban preventing prisoners from voting.

On Thursday, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling told MPs they could vote to defy a European Court of Human Rights ruling and keep the ban on prisoners voting.

But Mr Grayling said there would be a "political cost" in doing so.