Progress's event tomorrow on prison reform follows some high-profile interventions on the subject in the past few days.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, spoke out against prison overcrowding in a speech to the Howard League last Friday.

And yesterday's Observer carried two stories on prisons. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor's speech today makes a similar point to Lord Phillips', linking overcrowding with the level of prison suicides. There have already been more this year than in the whole of 2006.

The paper also featured details of a leaked Ministry of Justice memo, warning of cuts in the number of prison officers.

Prison reform has been off limits for New Labour since 1997, in the face of a hostile tabloid press and the memories of four election defeats - where Labour was hammered for being 'soft on crime' - still fresh. But is momentum finally beginning to build behind the idea?

Speaking at tomorrow's event will be:

Baroness Jean Corston
Author of The Corston Report: A review of women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system

Bobby Cummines
Director, Unlock - The National Association of Reformed Offenders

David Lammy MP,
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities & Skills (with responsibility for offender learning)

Ben Leapman,
Home Affairs Correspondent, The Sunday Telegraph

Lucie Russell,
Director, SmartJustice

Fiona Mactaggart MP (chair)

Join us tomorrow in the Wilson Room, Portcullils House, between 6 and 7.30pm. To register, please send your name and email address to mark@progressives.org.uk, or call 0203 008 8180.