Petty criminal, 40, who has spent more than 12 years behind bars for stealing a ... trends now
A petty criminal who has spent more than 12 years behind bars for stealing a mobile phone has been able to hug his teenage son for the first time since he was a toddler.
Thomas White, 40, shared an emotional reunion with his 14-year-old Kayden who was allowed to visit HMP Garth last week - the first time they have been together since 2012.
Thomas's case has become notorious for justice campaigners who say his incarceration is one of the worst on record because the 2012 phone theft didn't involve any violence - and his minimum sentence was just two years.
But because he was one of the last people to be handed a controversial 'Imprisonment for Public Protection' or IPP sentence - just four months before they were abolished - he has been languishing in prison ever since.
On seeing his dad for the first time since he was a baby, Kayden jumped out of his seat and hugged his dad for several minutes before calling him 'the best hugger in the world'. Thomas commented on how tall Kayden is and their 'lanky similarities'.
Thomas White (pictured), 40, shared an emotional reunion with his 14-year-old Kayden who was allowed to visit HMP Garth last week - the first time they have been together since 2012
Thomas' son Kayden (pictured) on seeing his dad for the first time since he was a baby, Kayden jumped out of his seat and hugged his dad for several minutes before calling him 'the best hugger in the world'
Thomas has not seen his son Kayden since he was a toddler. Margaret White, Kayden's grandmother and Thomas' mother, said: 'We are over the moon that Thomas and Kayden can start to build a normal father-son relationship, but our fight for justice has to continue'
Margaret White, Kayden's grandmother and Thomas' mother, said: 'Today is a day my family never thought would come. Thomas and Kayden have finally been allowed to see each other after all these years. There was not a dry eye in the room.
'We are over the moon that Thomas and Kayden can start to build a normal father-son relationship, but our fight for justice has to continue.
'My son remains locked up in prison alongside nearly 3,000 other IPP prisoners who are being psychologically tortured by a sentence that was supposedly abolished 12 years ago. I feel like I'm watching a slow suicide and I pray that authorities can please help before it's too late.'
The emotional reunion happened after Kayden and Clara White, Thomas's sister, met with Lord Blunkett, former Home Secretary and original architect of the IPP sentence, in the House of Lords in March.
During the meeting the Labour peer apologised to the family and admitted 'he got it wrong' and pledged his support to help make a reunion happen.
Thomas' efforts to see his son have consistently been blocked, with the prison citing concerns about Thomas' mental health.
He is diagnosed as having
