§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment was made by(a) Essex police and (b) the Prison Service of Mr. Richard Linford's psychiatric condition prior to his imprisonment. [24691]
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility 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. Harry Cohen, dated 22 May 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking what assessment was made by Essex police and the Prison Service of Mr. Richard Linford's psychiatric condition before his imprisonment.Mr. Linford was remanded in custody by Chelmsford Magistrates Court on 28 November 1994. The Prison Service did not, therefore, have any opportunity to assess his psychiatric condition prior to his reception into its custody. The matter of what assessment was made of Mr. Linford's psychiatric condition by the police prior to his reception or by the Prison Service after his reception into prison will be one of the questions to be examined in the course of the independent inquiry the Prison Service is jointly commissioning with North Essex Health Authority and Essex Social Services into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Christopher Edwards.