Taking the government to court is never easy and, unfortunately, today we learned that our claim has been dismissed. This is a deeply frustrating outcome, and I know that our disappointment will be shared by the many individuals and organisations who have stood alongside us in opposing this policy.  
  
But this is not the end. We remain opposed to the use of PAVA spray against children, and our work on this issue will continue. It must.  
  
This judicial review was focused squarely on the way in which the government reached its decision, not the rights or wrongs of the decision – and not what the impact might be on children, which is what we are most concerned about.  
  
At the hearing last month, the judge was told that the decision had been “finely balanced”, due to the risk and controversial nature of the use of PAVA spray with children. The judge acknowledged that the Ministry of Justice did not expect the introduction of PAVA spray to reduce overall levels of violence and harm in prisons holding children, and that it may in fact cause a “long term escalation and rising tenor of violent behaviour”. However, officials believed that it had the potential to prevent the infliction of immediate and serious harm/violence.  
 
The judge seems to have taken comfort from a reassurance offered by the government that PAVA spray will be used extremely rarely and as a last resort. But we are already receiving calls from children who have been affected. A strong theme is developing – that, far from being a last resort, PAVA spray has already become a normalised response to incidents of violence.  
  
And the reality is that this awful policy could have been even worse. We were not alone in opposing the government’s decision, and the strength of opposition was so significant that it forced the government to implement additional safeguards. This is why PAVA spray has been authorised for use by a small number of highly trained officers, and not all staff as was originally proposed.  
  
We will keep going. We will continue to support children and young people who are affected by this policy. We will be monitoring its use and governance closely, and we will not hesitate to take further action if necessary. Thank you for your support and generous donations. We could not do this without you. Please visit our website and sign up to our email updates to stay informed about our ongoing work.