§ Mr. John Wellsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long was the delay between the sentencing of Robert Maxwell to be birched and his own decision not to confirm the sentence; and for how many days of that period he was out of the country.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsThe award of corporal punishment was made by the Board of Visitors at Maidstone Prison on 13th September, 1966. My decision not to confirm it was taken 20 days later, on 3rd October. During this period Maxwell was under psychiatric investigation. I was56W out of the country for 15 days, but no delay was caused by my absence. The psychiatric reports were not available until after my return.