EXCLUSIVE: Man who was remanded in custody after failing to attend court over non-molestation order enters 40th day of hunger strike

A MAN who was remanded into custody after a warrant was issued for his arrest because he failed to appear at a crown court hearing in connection with a non-molestation order is going into his 40th day of hunger strike.

Stephen Phillips, 60, from Falkirk, Scotland, (pictured above just before handing himself in) was due to appear at Norwich Crown Court in person on October 10 2025, but he failed to appear, leading the judge to issue a bench warrant for his arrest.

After handing himself into police on November 5, he was remanded into custody and went on to an immediate hunger strike, claiming he will only stop if he is released.

Phillips was remanded in custody to HMP Bedford because he failed to appear in court to be sentenced after he admitted breaching a non-molestation order allegedly served in connection with a family court case.

Phillips says he was also attacked in his cell by another inmate while he was at HMP Bedford.

He said he would not come off his hunger strike until he is released.

He said: "They monitor me every 45 minutes, my blood pressure is taken and I have liver tests and urine tests. I was 83 kilos when I came in and I am down to 71 kilos so I have come down by 12 kilos. I am getting massive headaches."

UK News and Investigations urged him to resume eating for his own health, and to, instead, make a bail application.

However, he said: "I have made this decision now. This is the best way, I need to get my story out there, so hopefully a human rights lawyer will take the case on."

Phillips refused to appear at the crown court after making an application to change his plea to not guilty to the offence and to appear at the court remotely by online link, saying he could not again travel from Scotland to Norwich.

However, he alleged that neither application was approved by the court ahead of the hearing, so he did not attend the court, leading to the bench warrant being issued for his arrest.

Phillips wants to reverse his guilty plea, made in January, amid claims the non-molestation order was not properly served upon him.

He claims it was sent to a business email.

Non molestation orders, which are a form of injunction preventing the named individual from specified courses of behaviour against the person they are designed to protect, must be served on the subject in person by a process server or bailiff.

They can only be served by email or other means if specifically specified in the court order, if the subject has proved difficult to trace.

Separately, Phillips has been charged with stalking in connection with the same alleged victim, amid claims that between April 4 2023 and March 14 2024 he "sent multiple emails to various businesses claiming to be a private investigator who was investigating false allegations against the victim."

He vehemently denies the offence and is due to face trial at Norwich Magistrates' Court, in connection with those alleged offences, which stem from a family court case.

On October 31, he did appear at the magistrates' court via remote link.

However, District Judge Matthew Bone, refused to hear his case while he was unlawfully at large.

He said: "You are currently unlawfully at large and I am not prepared to manage your case until you surrender to the Norwich Crown Court."

The case was adjourned so Phillips could hand himself in, which he did.

He was initially remanded in HMP Bedford and then taken to appear at the magistrates' court on December 9, after which he was moved to HMP Norwich, where he remains.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said it would not comment on individual cases.

A spokesperson said: “We continually assess prisoners’ wellbeing and if a prisoner refuses food, they are closely monitored and referred to healthcare professionals, with regular checks on their wellbeing.

“Healthcare in prisons in England and Wales is the responsibility of the NHS, and any decisions about medical treatment or hospitalisation are made by qualified clinicians.”

When a prisoner refuses food, prison staff act in accordance with the Prison Safety Policy Framework which outlines HMPPS’s policy for managing prisoners who refuse food and/or fluids.

This includes notifying healthcare professionals, conducting regular welfare checks, and for healthcare staff to monitor the individual’s health closely.

Prison healthcare teams provide ongoing assessments and support, an.

Prison staff work to engage the individual to understand their concerns and seek resolution wherever possible.

All actions are documented and reviewed to ensure compliance with HMPPS policy and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

The current policy on food refusals is set out in the Safety Policy Framework which came into effect in January 2025.  

The framework strengthened the previous Prison Service Instruction which was in place from 2012 and included the policy on the management of prisoners who refuse food and/or fluid.

The new framework strengthens the policy including emphasising the importance of the early identification of food and/or fluid refusal to help identify and, if possible, alleviate the precipitating factor(s) and staff are required to make every effort to try and find out why the prisoner is refusing food and/or fluids and address the reasons for their refusal.

Phillips is not alone in hunger striking as several people jailed for have also been on hunger strike for around 40 days.