'I lied about being in prison - there was so much shame'

When Pratik Doshi was in prison serving a two-year sentence for drug offences he said the shame was so great that when on the phone to his aunties he pretended he was still studying accountancy at university.

"There was so much shame... as an Indian, you are either a doctor, lawyer or an embarrassment," the 30-year-old said.

In 2016 Doshi's degree at the University of Plymouth ended when he was arrested and later convicted of conspiracy to supply cannabis and possession with intent to supply cannabis.

Since his release he has fought to turn his life around and now works for a government-funded enterprise called Breakthrough Social Enterprise, which runs workshops across the country, including in Suffolk and Norfolk, to help former convicts improve their skills in IT and artificial technology to help them find employment.

"It's a double-edged sword, the same rebellious nature that got me in trouble, is the same rebellious nature that helps me get through the shame," Doshi said.

In the year to March, about 20% of offenders were in employment six weeks after being released from custody, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Doshi said: "There is a lot of regret [over my conviction], my parents, my family have done everything to instill good values to me from a good Jain family and I just let them down.

"I'm scared to go to family reunions and there is a constant game of cat and mouse, where I feel consistently punished for a mistake I made 10 years ago."

Doshi said speaking openly about his experience as part of his prison reform work has caused issues with his family, who have previously asked him not to talk about his sentence.

He said: "There is such a taboo. If we listened to that taboo then all of the countless people would not have been helped."

"The people closest to the problem are the closest to the solution," he added.

Sobanan Narenthiran, 30, is British Sri Lankan and is a childhood friend of Doshi's. He was his co-defendant in his 2017 conviction and is also now the CEO of Breakthrough Social Enterprise.

Narenthiran said his dream of becoming a doctor was shattered when he was sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty for conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Both Narenthiran and Doshi served part of their sentences at HMP Exeter.

"I regret what happened because of the impact on my family and the people I cared about and the consequences of going to prison," he said.

Narenthiran added the prison system was riddled with "lost people" who do not have anyone to advocate for them due to language barriers or a lack of family.

"Me and [Doshi] got put on the foreign national wing [in prison] - even though we are British nationals. A lot of prisoners of colour get put on that wing.

"It was a weird one but that foreign national wing was much better vibes than the other wings because it was made up of people who had genuinely made community," he said.

Foreign nationals make up about 12% of the prison population in England and Wales, according to a parliamentary report.

Narenthiran added that racial slurs were commonly used in prison by staff and inmates.

People from minority ethnic groups make up about 27% of the prison population, compared with 18% of the general population.

"In Exeter that was where there was quite a lot of racial tension, but that was also exacerbated by the establishment and the cultural or racial literacy that exists within staff.

"There is integration - people get along until they don't and if race gets brought up then that just escalates in itself.

"It's not all white people that were racist, but I think there is a vocal minority on both sides that causes aggravation," Narenthiran said.

In 2024 a report said that Exeter Prison has one of the highest rates of violence between adult male prisoners in England and Wales.

Doshi said being a minority and from an "underserved" community has helped him understand what prison reform needed to include to help inmates from minority backgrounds.

"It is important for ethnic ex-offenders to [advocate for reform] because we have a deep, lived experience.

"There aren't a lot of ethnic minorities who are [working in prison-reform]. Everyone is too scared to step out of line," he said.

The pair visited Parliament earlier this month to advocate for there to be more racial equality in prisons.

Neah Tuohy, from Essex, was working as a hairdresser when she was sentenced for 12 years in prison after violently glassing a man in the face in 2015.

She is now the director and founder of a charity called Her Storyy CIC, which works closely with young girls who are at risk of being sent to prison.

Tuohy said: "When you have been in prison or in care your whole life - you can become quite anti-authority but we are about breaking those barriers and learning how best we can support."

She said that prevention work was "key" to stop young people from entering the criminal justice system and early intervention could have changed the course of her life.

HMP Exeter said it had published an action plan earlier this year, which included introducing an equality liaison officer for each residential wing as a named point of contact "for prisoners to escalate equality, diversity and inclusivity concerns".

A HM Prison and Probation Service spokesperson said: "Before release, prisoners' resettlement needs are assessed and probation works with specialist services to help them access accommodation and other practical support, such as English-language education, to help them turn their backs on crime and better protect the public.

"Racism and discrimination have no place in our prisons and allegations are taken seriously and investigated."

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