§ Lord Boyd-Carpenterasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether consideration has now been given to the appeals of two Scots Guardsmen, Fisher and Wright, and whether it is now intended to release them; and whether they will give reasons for their detention. [HL687]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Dubs)The current appeals by Guardsmen Fisher and Wright take the form of a judicial review of the Secretary of State's decision of 27 October 1997 that the cases of the Guardsmen should be referred back to the Life Sentence Review Board in October 1998. Leave was granted for the judicial review on Monday 26 January. No date has yet been set for the hearing.
There are currently no plans to release Fisher and Wright. As to reasons for their detention I would refer the noble Lord to the Answer given by my honourable friend, Adam Ingram, the Minister responsible for life sentence prisoners in Northern Ireland, in another place, in reply to a Question from my honourable friend the Member for Linlithgow on 12 January 1998 (Official Report, cols. 82 and 83).