Despite no one being hurt, he has spent the last two decades incarcerated without hope on a discredited Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) jail term – until now.

Their decision to give him back his freedom came weeks before prime minister Andy Burnham announced he would finally end the injustice of IPP jail terms before the end of this parliament.

It also came shortly before the United Nations (UN) issued a landmark legal opinion which declared his detention – and that of a number of other prisoners serving draconian IPP sentences – is arbitrary and unlawful. A major legal challenge over their imprisonment was this week lodged at the High Court.

He was originally told he must serve a minimum of two years and six months for the robbery, committed in December 2005. Despite remaining drug-free for many years in prison, he was repeatedly refused parole because of his disruptive behaviour as he grew frustrated over his treatment, which he characterised as “cripplingly cruel”.