Following an announcement by the Ministry of Justice that chemical castration for convicted sex offenders will be trialed in 20 prisons, solicitor and managing director Marcus Johnstone has appeared across national and local media to discuss the proposed policy.
The pilot, which will see an extension of a trial in prisons in South West England, was announced by the Secretary of State for Justice on 22 May 2025, and will also include a review into the potential introduction of voluntary chemical castration for convicted sex offenders outside of prison.
Marcus Johnstone, solicitor and managing director at PCD Solicitors and a specialist in sexual offences law, spoke to journalists at over 30 national and local press and media outlets, discussing the strength of the policy and its likelihood of reducing offending.
Responding to The Independent and The Sun, Marcus said that although more research is needed into chemical castration, such a policy would 'solve nothing without adequate funding for counselling and psychological support', adding in The Guardian that is likely that such a policy would be quashed by the courts 'if [chemical castration] was made compulsory.'
Appearing on LBC with Tom Swarbrick, Marcus expanded on the legal and ethical implications of a prospective national roll-out, questioning the willingness of trained medical professionals to impose involuntary treatments on prisoners and the plausibility of convicted offenders continuing with voluntary treatments after their release.
In addition to quotes in The Standard, Yahoo News, the UK Human Rights Blog and Punch Magazine, Marcus also appeared in 15 local and regional publications, including the Birmingham Mail, The Evening Chronicle, and the Manchester Evening News.
You can watch and read Marcus' comments by visiting our press and media portal.