§ Mr. Moonmanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the procedure and principles which operated in the cases of the release from Broadmoor of Jack Dunlop and Nigel Bankford; and if he will now give an assurance that such procedures will be tightened up in the light of this and other recent experiences.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsIan Jack Dunlop was admitted to Broadmoor Hospital in pursuance of an order under Section 60 3W of the Mental Health Act 1959 made at Lewes Assizes in December 1964. The court also made an order making him subject to the special restrictions set out in Section 65 of the Act for a period of 15 years, the effect of which was to make his discharge or transfer, and the grant of leave, subject to the Home Secretary's consent. In May 1973 he was, with the consent of the then Home Secretary, transferred to Fair Mile Hospital, Wallingford. The responsible medical officer at that hospital was authorised to allow day parole and week-end leave, provided he was satisfied that there was no risk to others, but final authority for discharge from hospital had not been given at the time of Dunlop's arrest for the recent offences.
Proposals for the discharge or transfer of restricted patients are considered with great care in the light of medical advice and all other available information. Regard is had to the mental condition and needs of the patient and the prospects for his rehabilitation in the community, but the paramount consideration is the safety of the public. Discharge or transfer is authorised only if it is considered safe to do so, but judgment of this is inevitably subject to the difficulties of predicting dangerousness which are fully described in the recent report of the Butler Committee.
To improve the protection for the public the procedures for deciding upon the fitness of a restricted patient for discharge or transfer were strengthened in 1972 following the arrest of Graham Young. They were further revised in September 1973 on the recommendation of the Aarvold Committee. The Butler Committee has now proposed an extension of the Aarvold procedures for submitting a case to the scrutiny of an independent advisory board and, as I have already announced, I intend to introduce new arrangements on these lines as soon as the details can be settled.
Nigel Bankford, then known as Gilbert Derek Croft, was admitted to Broadmoor Hospital in pursuance of an order under section 60 of the Mental Health Act 1959 made at Hailsham Magistrates' Court in June 1965. He was discharged from the hospital in March 1970 after a period of six months trial leave. Since he was not subject to the special restrictions under 4W Section 65 of the Mental Health Act, it was not necessary to seek the consent of the Home Secretary before granting leave or ordering discharge. These decisions were made in accordance with provisions of the Mental Health Act for which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services has responsibility.