§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will order a public inquiry into the use of the prison minimum use of force tactical intervention squad.
§ Mr. WhitelawNo.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the guidelines on the handling of demonstrations and other acts of concerted indiscipline, including tactics and training in the use of minimum force, issued to governors and wardens of prison service establishments in February 1978.
§ Mr. WhitelawNo. This is confidential guidance relating to the security and control of prison service establishments.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if male prison officers were used against women prisoners on 4 September 1979 when the prison minimum use of force tactical intervention squad was deployed; and, if so, how many were used, and on whose authority.
§ Mr. WhitelawYes. Five male prison officers removed a barricade which two female inmates, armed with a knife, had erected on 3 September and re-located the inmates. The officers acted under the authority of the acting governor.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give full details of the circumstances which led to the use of the prison minimum use of force tactical intervention squad at Gartree on 6 October 1978, Hull on 11 April 1979, Styal on 4 September 1979, Lewes on 1 November 1978, Camp Hill on 20 September 1979, and Brixton on 26 September 1979; how many prisoners were involved in each case; how many members of the minimum use of force tactical intervention squad were involved in each case and which prisons they came from; how many prisoners and prison officers were injured on each occasion; and how many needed medical or hospital treatment.
§ Mr. WhitelawAt about midnight on 5 October 1978, teams of prison officers14W equipped and trained in the use of minimum force to retain control of prison service establishments (MUFTI teams) sought to breach barricades erected in A, B and D wings of Gartree prison by inmates who were destroying furnishings and fabric and throwing missiles. No inmate was injured by the teams, who were unable to breach the barricades because of missiles and boiling water thrown by inmates. A record distinguishing among the officers injured at the prison those who were members of teams is not readily available.
At Hull prison on 11 April 1979, 68 inmates in C wing began to destroy furnishings and fabric and throw missiles at staff, who were outnumbered and withdrew; 23 of the inmates, who wished to desist from indiscipline, were allowed to leave the wing. The remaining inmates dispersed to their cells when a MUFTI team of 22 officers from Hull succeeded, despite a hail of missiles, in breaching barricades. No officer or inmate was injured during the engagement.
At Styal prison on 3 September 1979 two inmates armed with a knife barricaded themselves in an office, where they remained until the evening of 4 September when a MUFTI team of five officers from Manchester prison removed the barricade and relocated the inmates, without receiving or causing any injury.
At Lewes Prison on 1 November 1978, 94 inmates began a sit-down demonstration in the dining hall which they continued into 2 November, when some sought unsuccessfully to gain access to the roof. The number of prison officers at the prison during the demonstration varied within a maximum of 134, including MUFTI teams of 26 and 10 from Brixton and Wandsworth prisons respectively. The demonstration ceased on 2 November without physical contact between prison officers and inmates, none of whom was injured.
At Camp Hill prison on 20 September 1979, 46 inmates staged a sit-down demonstration in St. George's Hall. MUFTI teams totalling 20 officers from Albany and Parkhurst prison were deployed out of sight of the inmates. When other officers entered the hall, the demonstration ceased. No officer or inmate was injured.
At Brixton prison on 26 September 1979, 22 inmates in the secure unit engaged 15W in a sit-down demonstration. A MUFTI team of 20 officers from Brixton, and one of 24 officers from Wandsworth prison, were standing by. The inmates ceased their demonstration when asked to do so, without the teams entering the unit No officer or inmate was injured.