§ 13. Mr. Berminghamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will establish an independent inquiry into the operation of detention centres.
§ Mr. WaddingtonWe have no plans to do so.
§ Mr. BerminghamDo not the growing number of complaints from parents, probation officers, teachers, solicitors and other people who have any connection with the inmates of detention centres, and the growing numbers of allegations of bullying and brutal treatment within those centres, mean that it is time the Government took such complaints seriously and established an inquiry to ascertain whether the short, sharp shock treatment is nothing more than a prescription for public bullying?
§ Mr. WaddingtonAll allegations of ill-treatment are fully and properly investigated. If the allegation is of a criminal offence, it is referred to the police for investigation, and there is no need for a more wide-ranging inquiry. I gather that the hon. Gentleman made an allegation to a newspaper about Usk, but no complaints have been received there from any inmates. Therefore, it is up to the hon. Gentleman, if he has evidence—
§ Mr. BerminghamI have.
§ Mr. Waddington—of improper conduct to bring it forward.