Human rights lawyers call for reform of prison inmates' legal representationRights Inside: Prison Service argues hearings are disciplinary and do not breach article 6The government's attitude to prisoners' rights - and especially their right to representation in internal disciplinary hearings - breaches the Human Rights Act and is in urgent need of reform, human rights lawyers have claimed.The criticism follows a case in which a young prisoner, Richard Greenfield, was denied legal representation and a hearing in front of an impartial adviser when he was disciplined for alleged drug use and given an additional 21 days on his two-year sentence for burglary.His solicitor, Richard Price of Sheffield firm Howells, was denied the right to represent his client at the hearing.

He said he was 'appalled and outraged' at the lack of progress in prisoners' rights despite the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 - specifically article 6, which guarantees a fair and impartial hearing.

'We're not saying that prisoners should not be disciplined -- all we're arguing is that they should have the same right to legal representation and an impartial hearing as they would if they were free.' Home Office figures show that in 1998, of 122,000 internal adjudications in British prisons, only 22 people were allowed legal representation.

'In many cases, prisoners are unable to represent themselves properly,' said Mr Price.

'Their cases are also heard by the prison controller, who is not an impartial or independent person as required by article 6.'Daniel Machover, a partner at London law firm Hickman & Rose and a specialist in prisoners' rights, agreed, saying the prison disciplinary system was 'ripe for change'.

However, he warned that not all disciplinary tribunals were necessarily appropriate for article 6 provisions.

'Prisoners are often disciplined on very minor matters, and these are not always appropriate for full article 6 rights.'He also said the Prison Service was looking into some of these issues, citing the example of Whitemoor Prison in Cambridgeshire, where a magistrate regularly comes into the prison to adjudicate some of the more serious disciplinary tribunals.

Malcolm Fowler, chairman of the Law Society's Criminal Law Committee, said: 'If the Human Rights Act is to have a serious impact on our laws, then this is exactly the sort of territory that needs robust scrutiny.'A spokesman for Prison Service denied the claims: 'We do not consider that the current prison disciplinary arrangements contravene article 6.

Protection of article 6 regards proceedings that determine civil rights and obligations - whereas prison disciplinary hearings are instead conducted for the purpose of good order and maintenance of discipline.'Victoria MacCallum