§ Mr. GINNELLasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether the suffrage prisoners in Tullamore prison have refused to take food; if so, when and on what grounds, as stated by themselves; and, if they are to be fed forcibly through the nose, will he give a reference to the legal authority for this practice?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThese prisoners have refused food for several days on the ground that they have not been accorded the full privileges of "political prisoners"—a category unknown alike to the law and to the prison regulations. I have already informed the hon. Member the extent to which the regulations have been relaxed in their favour. No forcible feeding has been resorted to in the case of these prisoners, and as regards the last paragraph of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the question asked on this subject by the hon. Member for the Mansfield Division on the 5th instant.