§ Mr. HoltTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted murderers in prison now have served(a) 30 years, (b) 25 years, (c) 20 years, (d) 15 years, (e) 10 years, (f) five years and (g) under five years.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggInformation on the time spent under sentence in prison department establishments in England and Wales by sentenced murderers held in such establishments on 30 September 1987 is given in the table. More detailed information about all life sentenced prisoners is given annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales", table 1(f) of the latest issue, for 1986, (Cm. 210), a copy of which is in the Library.
Sentenced murderers held under their original sentence1 in Prison Department establishments in England and Wales on 30 September 1987: by time spent under sentence in such establishments Years spent under sentence3 Number of prisoners2 Under 5 794 5 and under 10 646 10 and under 15 247 15 and under 20 68 20 and under 25 23 25 and under 30 5 30 and over 1 Total 1,784 1 Excluding 68 murderers recalled following an earlier release on licence. 2 The figures are those recorded centrally and are approximate. 3 Excluding any time spent on remand in custody or in non-prison department establishments.