§ Mr. John Fraserasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement about the practice of prison officers listening to prisoners' conversations on private visits with a view to using those conversations in evidence in proceedings.
§ Mr. MayhewThe prison rules provide generally for every visit to a prisoner to be in the hearing of a prison officer. The degree of supervision given to any visit depends principally on security considerations. It has long been recognised that it would be wrong to withold from the police information obtained during the supervision of a visit which seriously concerns the interests of justice. In addition, a court may summons an individual prison officer to give evidence or order the production of prison records.