§ Mr. MORGAN JONES(by Private Notice) asked the Home Secretary whether he has any statement to make to the House with reference to the Inquiry into the recent disturbances at Dartmoor?
§ Sir H. SAMUELThe report of the Inquiry that has been held is now in the hands of Members, and it is unnecessary for me to traverse any part of the ground covered in that report. There are certain matters, however, arising from the Inquiry on which I would ask leave to make a statement to the House.
The Inquiry shows that the prison officers as a body behaved well, and it is a matter of satisfaction that no one was killed and no escapes occurred. I am conveying to the staff an expression of my appreciation of their behaviour in very trying circumstances. Their conduct was fully in accordance with the high reputation of the British Prison Service for reliability, courage and restraint. This is not the occasion to apportion praise or blame to individuals, but the House may be assured that, as regards the very small number of officers who are mentioned in the report as being suspected of grave misconduct, no pains will be spared to obtain all available evidence with a view to appropriate action.
The Report confirms the view I had already publicly expressed of the great value of the assistance so promptly rendered by the police of Plymouth and of Devon, and I have sent to the two chief constables letters of thanks and appreciation.
As regards the prisoners who rendered substantial assistance to the authorities, each case is being carefully investigated, and it is certainly my intention to give effect to the suggestion in Mr. du Parcq's Report that the conduct of those who behaved courageously and well should be suitably recognised.
501 As regards the prisoners who took an active part in the disorders, it is intended that criminal proceedings shall be instituted forthwith in open Court against those whose offences are too grave to be dealt with as mere breaches of prison discipline. The conduct of others will be investigated by the Board of Visitors, who are an independent body, now consisting almost entirely of justices of the peace, which has been established by Statute for dealing, among other matters, with serious prison offences.
From the outset it had been contemplated that Mr. du Parcq's Inquiry would be followed by judicial and disciplinary proceedings. He was not commissioned to try the offenders and could have no power to do so; and in order that his inquiry should not prejudice the course of future proceedings, it was essential that it should be conducted in private. For this reason the names of convicts are omitted from the report, and for the same reason it is not possible to publish the notes of evidence. Mr. du Parcq very properly explained to the prisoners whom he called before him that he was not concerned with their guilt or innocence and informed them that their statements would be treated as confidential.
With regard to the future of Dartmoor Prison, the report calls attention to certain serious disadvantages connected with this prison, including its isolated position and the lack of amenities for the members of the staff and their families. Apart altogether from the recent incidents, these and other considerations affecting Dartmoor Prison had already been under review. On 19th November last I held a conference with the Chairman of the Prison Commissioners and my principal advisers at the Home Office, at which a scheme was decided upon for making a very large reduction in the population of this prison as soon as alternative arrangements could be devised. This proposal was being pressed forward as one of the measures to be adopted for the purpose of effecting economies in Government expenditure, and the financial arrangements that were involved were about to be submitted to the Treasury. I may mention that Dartmoor is an exceptionally expensive establishment to maintain (the farming of the land attached to the prison is far from being an economic proposition). The decision as to Dartmoor was also con- 502 nected with a large scheme of reorganisation, which included a plan for making better arrangements in a separate establishment at Chelmsford for the training of young convicts.
In pursuance of that decision, the admission of fresh cases to Dartmoor Prison had been discontinued since the 19th November last. Mr. du Parcq's report confirms the desirability of the measures that were contemplated. The recent outbreak also emphasises the risks of concentrating in one establishment any considerable number of convicts of the specially dangerous type to whom the report calls attention, and I propose, in consultation with my advisers, to consider the best arrangements for meeting this situation. An authoritative committee was appointed by my predecessor in April, 1931, to consider the whole problem of the persistent offender, and I hope to have the benefit of the report of that committee when these measures are being formulated.
Many exaggerated reports have arisen out of these occurrences. The damage done to the buildings is estimated to be less than £3,000, even if it should be decided to reconstruct the portion that was burnt. The assistance of the military was invited on the night of Monday, the 25th January, when a small force of soldiers was stationed outside the prison, because the officers sent to relieve the prison staff had not yet arrived, the night was foggy, and there was some nervousness in the locality. This assistance was requisitioned for one night only, but special police precautions had to he continued for some time because there were reports, which might or might not have been well-founded, of the possibility of organised attempts at escape with assistance from outside the prison; and the situation was complicated by the presence of numbers of strangers in the neighbourhood, some of whom might have been there for illicit purposes.
The report, which has appeared in some newspapers, of a murderous attack on a warder at Dartmoor on Saturday last is quite untrue. An incident occurred, too trivial even to call for minor disciplinary action. There has been no act of violence at the prison of any kind since the original disorder was suppressed within two hours of its outbreak.
503 I feel sure that the House will endorse the expression of appreciation which I have conveyed to Mr. du Parcq for his prompt, complete and judicial survey of all the circumstances connected with this occurrence.
§ Mr. JONESWhile appreciating the very full report which the Home Secretary has given to the House, may I ask whether he does not feel that even that report, full as it is, leaves a large number of important issues still unanswered, and will he not, in the public interest, have a fuller public inquiry with a view to discovering in the administration what was the cause of this remarkable outbreak?
§ Sir H. SAMUELNo, Sir, I think the report is very complete. If any other matters are to be brought forward by the convicts concerned, that can be done when the trial takes place.
§ Mr. JONESIn view of the very grave uneasiness that has been occasioned in the public mind, partly by the proceedings at Dartmoor, and partly by the report itself, will the Home Secretary consider allowing us a little time, arranged through the usual channel, for a discussion upon this report in all its applications?
§ Sir H. SAMUELThat question should be addressed to the Leader of the House.
§ Mr. BUCHANANIf it is decided to proceed against certain of the so-called more dangerous and bad type of criminals, will they be allowed proper facilities for being defended, if any punitive action is to be taken against them?
§ Sir H. SAMUELCertainly they will have every facility of that kind, and, if assistance by counsel is desired, the Poor Prisoners' Defence Act will apply, and all facilities will be given to them to ensure a fair trial.
§ Mr. BUCHANANIn view of the fact that the report has been published, and that it is based on evidence given before the Commissioner, will the Home Secretary not reconsider his decision in regard to publishing the evidence, seeing that no one can make up his mind as to whether the decisions arrived at are correct or not unless the evidence, which was laid before the inquiry, is before them as well as the report itself?
§ Sir H. SAMUELNo, Sir, for the reason stated in my answer it is not possible to publish the evidence. If it had been known that the evidence was to be published, I feel sure that the inquiry would not have been so thorough and complete as it was.
§ Sir W. DAVISONWill the Home Secretary consider whether the powers of the Governor are adequate to inflict punishment without waiting for adjudication?
§ Sir H. SAMUELI think the powers possessed by the Governors have proved to be very adequate.
Sir NAIRNE STEWART SANDEMANWhen did the Home Office first get an intimation that there was trouble at Dartmoor?
§ Sir H. SAMUELThat is stated in the Report.
§ Mr. HANNONIn such embarrassing circumstances did not the Governor do exceptionally well?
§ Sir H. SAMUELThat matter is dealt with in the Report, and I have nothing to add.
§ Mr. BUCHANANIn view of the fact that three questions are involved, firstly the punishment of the criminals, secondly the conduct of the Governor, and thirdly the conduct of certain prison officials, is it not important, in view of the fact that all these people are under a cloud in one respect or another, that we should, in the interests of public decency, have the whole of the evidence placed before us so that we may allocate the blame in regard to these matters?
§ Sir H. SAMUELI am certain that the House can rely upon Mr. du Parcq having drawn his conclusions quite clearly upon the evidence placed before him?
§ Mr. JONESWhen the board of visitors make their inquiries in certain cases, will the evidence be taken in public or in private?
§ Sir H. SAMUELI should like to have notice of that question.