Jane Leech has become interim National Chair of the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs). She takes on the post after her predecessor stood down amid infighting within the organisation.
The boards act as independent watchdogs, and volunteers make up their membership. Their members visit prisons and other places where people are held in England and Wales. They then report on what they find.
Elisabeth Davies resigned as National Chair in December 2025, citing personal reasons. Her departure followed a revolt by the chairs of local boards against a package of reforms agreed at national level. The package aimed to streamline processes and cut workload.
Under the plans, monitors would have lost the ability to pursue complaints from individual prisoners. They would also have faced a ban on visiting the jails they monitor more than three times a week. The package came off the table within a week of Ms Davies’s resignation, pending further consultation.
Many local boards across England and Wales have vacancies because too few people come forward to volunteer. The reforms sought to reduce the time that volunteers must commit. They also aimed to stop monitors from growing too close to prison staff.
Ms Leech has been an IMB member for 18 years. She chaired the boards that monitor two Immigration Removal Centres, Yarl’s Wood and Derwentside. From 2015 to 2024 she sat on the IMB National Board and the bodies that preceded it. She received an MBE for her work in 2020.
Her appointment is temporary. The organisation will name a permanent National Chair at a later date.
Ms Leech said: “Having previously been part of the IMB for 18 years, I feel privileged to return in this capacity, bringing my experience to work alongside such dedicated members, all with the shared focus of improving conditions for prisoners and detained people.”
