§ Mr. F. Noel-Bakerasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will investigate complaints from women held in the Central Prison, Nicosia, regarding conditions in which they are permitted to 95W receive visitors, particularly the provision of a thick wire net through which the visitors have to communicate, and the use as a store-room of the room in which church services were held, and the prohibition of food parcels.
§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd:I have consulted the Governor, who informs me that the screen mentioned in the first part of the Question was considered essential after it was discovered that messages, including a plan for prison escape, had been passed into and out of the prison. A room made available to the women in the prison for church services previously contained a cupboard in which stores were kept, but this has been removed. Although food parcels have been prohibited for security reasons, the women are allowed to buy extra food through the prison authorities if they wish.