HC Deb 12 March 1997 vol 292 c212W
Mr. George Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on how the memory for the automatic record facility on the 20 to 30 second replay prior to the perimeter fence alarm activation had been completely cleared. [16863]

Miss Widdecombe

At the time of the escape from Her Majesty's prison Whitemoor on 9 September 1994, once an activation of the perimeter fence alarm had been responded to by an operator in the emergency control room, the alarm system was wiped clear. This included the memory of the images received by the nearest camera connected to the alarm system in the 20 to 30 second period before the alarm was activated.