Former Home Secretary Lord Michael Howard has called on the current Home Secretary to change the bail laws that he signed off more than 30 years ago to plug a loophole that allows serious offenders to escape justice.

Lord Howard has called on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to correct what he now “regrets” was an “oversight” in amendments to the Bail Act of 1993 which he pushed through Parliament when he was serving in John Major’s government.

Lord Howard’s extraordinary intervention comes as he steps in to support the Justice For Jack Ryan campaign that is demanding for the automatic surrender of passports by anyone on bail for offences that carry a potential prison term.

The campaign has been launched by the family of Jack Ryan and The Chelsea Citizen after the driver who killed Jack in a high speed collision in London in 2021 was able to flee Britain because he had been allowed to retain his passport.

Rashid Ali, then 28, was driving a Range Rover at speed – and jumping a traffic light – across Battersea Bridge when he hit 31-year-old marketing executive Jack, who died from his injuries at the scene.  

Ali, who claimed to be a student at the time, was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison at the Old Bailey in 2024. But Ali did not attend the trial because he had been granted bail at an earlier court appearance and had returned to his native Pakistan. 

Since then, Ali has got married and started a new life and has shown no intention of returning to serve his sentence. There is currently no extradition treaty with Pakistan, but the Pakistan government has the powers to deport him to Britain.

The Bail (Amendment) Act of 1993 was written and introduced as a Private Member’s Bill in the House of Commons by Michael Stephen MP – who is now Vice Chairman of The Chelsea Society.

The Bill completed its progress through Parliament when Lord Howard, now 85, was Home Secretary. The Act gave prosecutors the right to appeal a court’s decision to grant bail, or a refusal to impose conditions, such as the surrender of a passport.

In a letter to Home Secretary Mahmood, Lord Howard, who retired in 2010, states that he agrees with campaigners and that he regrets not putting passport surrender in the legislation. In reference to a letter from the team behind Justice For Jack Ryan, he writes:

‘I am enclosing a letter which its self-explanatory. It seems to me to make a good point. The loophole is obviously something I should have thought of when I took the 1994 (sic) legislation through Parliament and much regret that I didn’t. Can you please remedy my oversight’.

In a statement, the Ryan family welcomed Lord Howard’s intervention. “We are relieved Lord Howard has acknowledged that the existing bill laws are flawed and need to be changed. Our story highlights the reality of this serious issue and the devastating impact it can have on innocent people. We are grateful to Lord Howard for this acknowledgement and hope that this can add weight to our call for real change.”

Rob McGibbon, Editor of The Chelsea Citizen, added: “It makes no sense that someone facing a possible prison sentence is allowed to keep their passport and travel freely whilst awaiting trial. 

“When someone is facing years in jail, is it any wonder that they abscond and start a new life abroad? Lord Howard’s action shows that this problem needs to be fixed. I am pleased that he has highlighted the loophole in the law and thank him for supporting the campaign.”

When asked by The Chelsea Citizen, Mr Stephen said “In Jack Ryan’s case, the prosecution should certainly have asked the court to impose that condition, or not to grant Bail at all, and should have appealed under the power conferred by my Act if they refused.”

The petition for the Justice For Jack Ryan campaign currently has more than 2,400 signatures.

For media enquiries about Justice For Jack Ryan, contact Rob McGibbon via The Chelsea Citizen or email justiceforjackryan@gmail.com