§ Mr. John G. Blackburn (Dudley, West)With your permission, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I rise to exercise the sovereign and constitutional right of an hon. Member to place before the House a petition in respect of his constituents.
I do this to fulfil a personal pledge to my constituents in August 1980 to raise this matter before my fellow right hon. and hon. Members.
The petition contains four signatures. They are the signatures of the widow, brother and two close relatives. It relates to the death of my constituent, Mr. Barry Prosser, in Winson Green prison while in custody on remand for medical reports in August 1980.
I also present a similar petition in identical terms containing 4,436 signatures. The over-riding motive behind this course of action is to ensure that never again in the history of the prison service do we have such a case.
The petition states:
To the Honourable the Commons of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled.The Humble Petition of the Family of Barry Prosser sheweth that there is great concern about the circumstances surrounding the death of Barry Prosser in August 1980.Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your Honourable House will instruct the Home Secretary to set up a Public Enquiry into the conditions at Winson Green prison which led to the death of Barry Prosser in August 1980.
§ And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray etc.
§ I pray that this night the House will receive the petition.
§ To lie upon the Table.