§ 2. Lieut.-Colonel Liptonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, for the better protection of the prisoner, he will arrange for the transfer to another prison of D. Beaumont, now under sentence at Parkhurst.
§ Sir D. Maxwell FyfeThe prisoner Beaumont is serving the second stage of a sentence of preventive detention, and under the Prison Rules, 1949, this must be served in a central prison. Dartmoor and Parkhurst are the only two central prisons for recidivist men prisoners, and Beaumont would be little better off at Dartmoor.
However, the Prison Rules, 1952, which come into force today, give certain additional powers of transfer, and the possibility of making use of them in Beaumont's case will be borne in mind.
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonIs the Home Secretary aware that conditions at Parkhurst are so appalling that this man has to be kept in solitary confinement to ensure that he is not maimed or even killed? How many more throats must be slit at Parkhurst before the Home Secretary takes action?
§ Sir D. Maxwell FyfeI do not accept the premises in the hon. and gallant Gentleman's supplementary, but I am quite prepared to consider the matter.