Your article (Tories bow to Europe on prisoner votes bill, 24 October) indicated that there might at long last be some progress on an issue that should never have become political. People are sent to prison to take away their liberty not their citizenship. It is the height of absurdity for the PM to say at the beginning of the week that we should concentrate on rehabilitation and two days later say that prisoners will never have the vote during the lifetime of this parliament.

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