§ 2.59 p.m.
§ Lord AVEBURYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government why Mrs. Aileen Morgan, a 61-year-old who needs medical attention, has been detained in Holloway Prison without charge since 1st February.
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, Mrs. Morgan was detained on 1st February on the authority of a deportation order pending arrangements for her return to Guyana. The reason why she has not yet been removed is that her solicitors have lodged an application for leave to appeal out of time against the decision to deport her. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary is not prepared to agree that she should be released in the meantime. She had disregarded the immigration control for a number of years before she was traced. The prison medical officer reports that she is in general good health.
§ Lord AVEBURYMy Lords, does the noble Lord know that this lady has now been confirmed as suffering from tuberculosis and that she actually needs inpatient treatment in a hospital? Is he 1703 also aware that when a number of Members of the other place went to Mr. Brynmor John in July, 1978, he said that the provisions of the Bail Act would normally be considered in relation to administrative detention just as in the case of a decision by the courts to release a person? Is the noble Lord now telling the House that in no case where a person has overstayed leave to remain here will the Secretary of State agree to release him temporarily pending appeal? If that is the case, would there be some method by which the noble Lord could secure an accelerated hearing by which people who are ill with tuberculosis do not languish in prison for months on end?
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, obviously, the matter regarding the lady suffering from tuberclosis is one that I shall have to take up with my right honourable friend. I had no knowledge of that; and I was dealing with the matter as recently as today. There were four occasions on which she was seen by the medical officer: on 5th February, on 6th March, on 13th March and on 19th March. The earlier visits to the doctor were about her trouble in sleeping. Subsequently, she complained about pain in the chest and, on the last occasion, she had an X-ray and they told her the results of that X-ray. The noble Lord's news is certainly a surprise. It is a matter that I cannot comment upon and one which I shall have to inquire into.
That Mrs. Morgan is being detained is not an indication that everybody else will be treated in a similar way. She came to this country with her daughter on 5th August 1972, and was given leave to remain until 15th September. She did not leave the country and it was some years before she was found. She then made an application to remain, which was refused in May 1975. Then she disappeared and has only recently been found. The deportation order signed in 1977 is about to be put into operation.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, may I ask my noble friend whether it is necessary to keep this woman in prison? Is there not another institution in which she might be kept if detention is still necessary?
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, I did say that my right honourable friend 1704 the Secretary of State is loth to release her to any other body or organisation. The medical facilities at Holloway Prison are extremely good. Immediately she complained she was seen. I cannot either confirm or deny what the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, has said.
§ Lord AVEBURYMy Lords, what I have told you about her state of health is true. It is impossible to suppose that the lady might abscond if given temporary release. Would the noble Lord deal with the point that I made about the undertaking given by his right honourable friend Mr. Brynmor John when he saw a delegation of Members of another place at the end of July 1978, when he said that the provisions of the Bail Act would be taken into consideration in deciding whether to release a person detained on the instructions of the Secretary of State, in precisely the same way as they would in a case of a court of law considering the release of such a person?
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, I thought that it was implied in what I said that every possible consideration has been given as to how this lady should be treated; and, rightly or wrongly, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State says that she must remain in custody.
§ Lord CARR of HADLEYMy Lords, could the Minister tell us whether there is any reason why this lady should not receive at least as good treatment for her illness while in prison as if she were allowed to leave prison?
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, as I understand the situation in Holloway Prison, there is no difference at all.
§ Lord SEGALMy Lords, if there is, indeed, any evidence of tuberculosis in this case, would it not be possible for my noble friend to arrange for a visit to take place by a consultant in tuberculosis, even while this patient is in hospital, to confirm whether she is suffering from this disease?
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, I shall be glad to convey the remarks of my noble friend to my right honourable friend the Secretary of State.
§ Lord AVEBURYMy Lords, I apologise for speaking again, but I did ask whether there was any way in which his right honourable friend could secure an accelerated hearing where persons such as Mrs. Morgan are detained in prison pending an appeal under the Immigration Act.
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, this is obviously another point that I shall want to raise with my right honourable friend when I raise the other matter.