HC Deb 27 July 1993 vol 229 c856W
Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison inmates in England and Wales were serving a life sentence for murder as of 16 July.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated July 1993:

The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you directly in reply to your Parliamentary Question about the population of prisoners serving a life sentence for murder.

The latest available information is for 31 May 1993 when there were 2,520 prisoners in Prison Service establishments serving mandatory life sentences for murder.