Rebel Justice - changing the way you see justice
What is justice? Who does it serve? Why should you care?
When we think about justice, we think about it as an abstract, something that happens to someone else, somewhere else. Bad people. But justice and the law regulate every aspect of our interactions with each other, with organisations, with the government.
We never think about it until it impacts our lives, or that of someone close.
News, views and trues from The View Magazine, a social justice and campaigning platform for the rights of women in the justice system.
Our guests are women with lived experience of the justice system whether as victims or women who have committed crimes; people at the forefront of civic action who put their lives on the line to demand a better world such as maligned climate justice campaigners.
We ask them to share their insight into how we might repair a broken and harmful system, with humanity and dignity.
We also speak with people who are in the heart of of the justice system creating important change, climate activists, judges, barristers, human rights campaigners, mental health advocates, artists and healers.
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Rebel Justice - changing the way you see justice
Do you believe in a fair trial? A testimony from Constance Marten on trial at the Old Bailey
The right to a fair trial is the cornerstone of justice, but what happens when the systems designed to facilitate that right undermine it instead? This powerful episode of Rebel Justice takes listeners behind the scenes of Britain's prisoner transport system through the unflinching testimony of Constance Martin, a defendant currently facing retrial at the Old Bailey.
Constance's first-person account reveals the exhausting reality of being transported between prison and court by private contractor Serco, where profit optimisation appears to take precedence over human dignity. Woken at 5:15am, subjected to hours in metal cage compartments within prison vans, denied adequate food and rest, and crucially, prevented from meaningful access to her legal team, Constance describes days stretching to 19 hours that leave her struggling to stay awake during her own trial. "My life depends on the outcome of this trial," she writes, yet the system seems designed to prevent her full participation.
The episode examines how Serco, paid per prisoner rather than per journey, creates transport schedules that maximise efficiency at the cost of defendants' rights. Meanwhile, the company reports billions in revenue and substantial profits, raising serious questions about privatising critical justice functions. The judges admit they're powerless to hold contractors accountable, and when Serco was asked to comment, they said that Ministry of Justice is wholly accountable. We must ask ourselves, who is accountable and who does this system truly serve?
This isn't just about comfort. It's about fundamental justice. When defendants are too exhausted to engage with their own defence, when they're denied proper legal consultation during active trials, and when their treatment diminishes them in the eyes of juries, can we honestly claim our system provides fair trials?
Listen now to this eye-opening examination of how corporate interests and systemic failures are compromising justice for vulnerable people, particularly women in the system who bear the brunt of these dehumanising practices.
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Whether I'm remanded or not. It's every human being's inalienable right to have access to a fair trial, a legal team and dignity in the process of justice.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Rebel Justice, a podcast from the View magazine, a platform by and for women in the justice system. This week's episode comes directly from a defendant in one of the most high-profile cases currently underway at the Old Bailey. Constance Martin is on retrial in connection with the tragic death of her newborn baby, victoria, after a jury last year was unable to reach a verdict. Her case has drawn a lot of media attention, but today we're sharing her personal experience in her words from inside the justice system.
Speaker 2:Constance has written a powerful testimony about being transported to and from court by Serco, the private company contracted by the government to provide prisoner escort services. What she describes is exhausting, dehumanising and raises serious concerns about whether a fair trial is even possible under these conditions. The right to a fair trial is protected by law. It's not just a principle, it's a legal right, one that should be upheld for everyone, regardless of their circumstances or the details of their trial. In a moment, you'll hear Constance's words read by an actor. This is her account, written and shared with us from HMP Bronzefield, dated 20th of March 2025.
Speaker 1:Whether on remand or not, it's every human being's inalienable right to have access to a fair trial, a legal team and dignity in the process of justice. The state has made the decision to charge me and deny me bail for over two years. It should be a given necessity that remand prisoners like me have access to a legal team and I'm able to get enough rest between long court days to attend my trial to a legal team and I'm able to get enough rest between long court days to attend my trial. This is a problem that affects female prisoners more harshly and disproportionately than our male counterparts. Bronzefield, where I am held, is two hours away from London by prison van. The knock-on effect is that Serco, the government transport defence contractor that has the prison transport contracts in this area, squeezes as many women as it can into one van that can carry prisoners. They're paid for prisoners, they transport not per trip, and companies are obliged to deliver maximum profit to their shareholders with minimum concern for the dignity, rights or decent treatment of women prisoners. They turn them all into one van with two Serco officers, one driving and one in the back, by the prisoners. This means paying minimum wages to pay for misuse of fuel and less wear and tear on their prison vans, which the ECHR has deemed unfit for transporting humans. Of course this means maximum profits.
Speaker 1:Bronzefield is a remand prison but it's not catering to remand prisoners. They do their manual roll count at 6.30pm and 9pm on weekdays, but this is the window of time that vans usually return from the court. Prisoners could be stuck inside their individual metal cages in the Serco vans for hours and hours outside the prison until the roll count numbers are cleared and it would surprise you how many prison officers don't know how to count and how many times the count has to be repeated. Now vans are allowed onto the premises while this is going on and returns have been prevented from accessing the prisons for up to six hours, taking the average time to return from court to between 9.30pm and midnight. Prisoners are then woken up at 5.15pm to attend court the next day, then locked behind a door in the reception area until 7.30am when the first Serco van leaves with the prisoners. The old Bailey prisoners get dropped off first because it's a prestigious court picking up prisoners during rush hour. A very heavy route between central London and Heathrow. It makes no sense having a morning drive three hours on arrival at the court, but there's no time then for the prisoner to see their legal team by the time they are at the court. Court begins by barristers and lawyers having been there since 9am and courts refuse legal meetings after 4.30pm, which is the time the court day finishes. So by not allowing prisoners to have time with our legal teams, this is a basic human right.
Speaker 1:Being ordered against Court food is disgusting and it's inadequate. It's just a tiny microwave meal that hasn't been changed for over 20 years, left in the old Bailey's stone cold cells in the basement until 7.30pm to 8.30pm every day. Because I'm the only female on trial at the moment, in the van I'm driven around London to all the other courts to pick up the other female prisoners on trial. Suddenly, old Bailey is freezing, the heating isn't working at the moment trial. Suddenly, old Bailey is freezing, the heating isn't working at the moment.
Speaker 1:Yesterday I got back to the prison at 10pm being made to do these 17-19 hour days with little or no rest, no food, and I'm then expected to be alert in the dock. I think it really prejudices my case when I'm falling asleep in front of the jury when I decide to attend, but then when I don't decide to attend because I'm just too tired. It reflects badly on me and makes me seem like I care so little about my trial that I'm falling asleep. That's just not true. My life depends on the outcome of this trial. Serco are fined if they collect prisoners after two hours of their court case, but fines are so minimal that they just ignore it. It's no skin off their back. Co-workers are not allowed to work beyond 11 hour shifts and if they do, they must have a 24 hour break.
Speaker 1:So Serco recognises the need for rest as a basic function of being a human. How can I attend a highly emotionally charged case with my liberty on the line and remain alert and attentive for three months with very, very little rest and no adequate access to my legal team while my trial is ongoing? It's just complete madness. Many women are in contempt of court because they quit attending after a few days. The men leave as soon as their case is finished because the court is full of males returning to the same prison, usually Belmarsh. They don't attend court after so many days, whereas I'm placed on Gardner's report so many times for not attending and I end up in the segregation unit. This entire system will continue, preventing us from having a right to a fair trial. As long as we allow this to continue, as long as we allow this to continue, I feel as if I need to sue Serco for adversely affecting my trial, preventing me from accessing my lawyers, and for my mental health, which is in pieces.
Speaker 2:Constance's story is shocking. To understand why this is happening, we need to understand Serco. Serco is one of the UK's largest outsourcing companies. For decades, it has secured government contracts worth billions of pounds across security, immigration, defence and justice. In 2019, serco was awarded a 10-year contract worth 800 million pounds by the Ministry of Justice to deliver prisoner escort and custody services across the south of England, including London, the south-east and the south-west. Serco made a promise it would deliver safe, secure and efficient transport, but in reality, it seems as though efficiency has come above all else, with profits coming at the cost of humanity. The contract pays them per prisoner transported, not per journey, so vans are filled as much as possible and timetables are stretched, with prisoners travelling long journeys across the country.
Speaker 2:Constance describes being locked in a van for hours, sleep deprived, freezing, and arriving at court too late or too exhausted to speak to her legal team. This is not a minor issue. This is the very foundation of a fair trial being undermined. Sadly, this isn't new. In 2013, serco was fined over £19 million for overcharging the government, including billing for electronic tagging of people who were dead in prison or had left the country. In 2024, they were penalised again after failing to fit tags to offenders, including those convicted of domestic abuse. Serco blamed a shortage of tags, but the Ministry of Justice pointed to understaffing on the contract by 2025,. Even barristers were publicly criticising Serco, accusing the company of worsening backlogs in the criminal courts criticizing Serco accusing the company of worsening backlogs in the criminal courts. In the first nine months of 2024 alone, 125 trials were fully adjourned due to prisoners not being delivered to court on time. Judges have said they're powerless to hold private contractors to account and yet, despite these failures, the contracts just continue.
Speaker 2:This year, serco reported £4.8 billion in revenue and over £270 million in profit, with its CEO earning nearly £2 million and shareholders receiving record dividends. These figures reflect growing profit margins driven largely by cost-cutting and so-called efficiency savings. And the money keeps coming. Earlier this year, serco was awarded a contract worth up to £1.5 billion to lead military recruitment for the Ministry of Defence. But when profit and efficiency comes before humanity and fairness, we have to ask what kind of justice system are we operating and who is it really serving? In the case of Serco, the only people truly benefiting from this so-called efficiency are their shareholders, not Constance, not the Ministry of Justice and certainly not the public, because if justice is to mean anything at all, it must be accessible, humane and fair. This isn't just about one person's experience. It matters for all of us. We contacted Serco for comment. They told us that decisions around court locations, vehicle design and legal access are made by the Ministry of Justice, not Serco. However, serco is responsible for delivering these services and the experience described by Constance raises serious questions about how that delivery affects a defendant's right to a fair trial.
Speaker 2:You've been listening to Rebel Justice, a podcast from the View magazine. Constance's story is one of many. Women in the justice system continue to face systemic failures that are rarely addressed. Women in the justice system continue to face systemic failures that are rarely addressed. We believe that these voices must be heard and central to any conversation about justice and reform. If you've been affected by the issues raised in this episode or you want to know more about the work the View is doing, you can visit us at theviewmagorguk. Thank you for listening.