§ 2. Mrs. Mannasked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of criminal lunatics released for Christmas and New Year holidays, at December, 1957, and January, 1958, from mental institutions in Lanarkshire; and to what extent it is now a practice to release criminal lunatics for holiday periods.
§ The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. John Maclay)No person found to be insane and ordered by the courts to be detained during Her Majesty's pleasure was granted leave of absence from a mental hospital in Lanarkshire at Christmas, 1957, or New Year, 1958. Some such patients, who have been transferred from the State Mental Hospital to ordinary mental hospitals, may be granted, with my approval, short periods of parole outside the hospital. No special effort is made to arrange these paroles to coincide with public holidays.
§ Mrs. MannWill the right hon. Gentleman tell me whether the Chief Constable of Coatbridge is correct in saying that when the Lanarkshire police were asked to search for the murderer of Isobel Cooke, their work was greatly enlarged because of the number of criminal lunatics released from Lanarkshire hospitals? Is this statement true or false?
§ Mr. MaclayI should certainly want to examine the hon. Lady's supplementary question very carefully before making any comment on it.