§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role his Department has played in the(a) release and (b) post-release arrangements of Eden Strang; and if he will make a statement. [67855]
§ Mr. Hilary Benn[holding answer 10 July 2002]: The Home Office played no role in the release arrangements for Mr. Strang. I regret that because of an unfortunate administrative error in the Home Office, authority for his detention as a restricted patient lapsed on 2 August 2000. Accordingly, his discharge was a matter for his hospital care team. Since his discharge, the Home Office has liaised closely with the local Multi Agency Public Protection Panel and established what the arrangements are for his safe care and supervision in the community. We have also learned of the concerns of the victims about his offence.
I take these concerns extremely seriously. It is not right that victims of such terrible events should have to learn from the media that the offender has been discharged. We have therefore published proposals in the Mental Health Bill to bring the rights of victims of mentally disordered offenders into line with those of the victims of violent or sexual offending in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000.