§ Mr. Bendallasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in the light of the press interview of Mr. Charles Richardson, an escaped prisoner, he will take steps to amend the law to make it an offence not to disclose to the police information which a person knows to be, or believes might be, of material assistance in securing the apprehension of an escaped prisoner.
Mr. BrirttanIt is an offence under section 22 of the Criminal Justice Act 1961 for a person knowingly to harbour someone who has escaped from prison, or to give any such person any assistance with intent to hinder or interfere with his being taken into lawful custody. While in general it is not a criminal offence simply to withhold information from the police, in some circumstances an offence may be committed under section 5 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 by a person who receives a consideration for not disclosing information which might be of material assistance in securing the prosecution or conviction of an offender. We are of course unable to comment on whether these or any other offences may have been committed in the particular case to which my hon. Friend refers. While we hope that all members of the public will assist the police to discover and apprehend offenders and those who have escaped from lawful custody, my right hon. Friend has no present plans to extend the criminal law in the way proposed.