§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been held in police cells since 27 March; what was the average length of time spent there; what types of prisoner were held; and for what reasons they were detained.
§ Mr. BrittanI assume the hon. Member has in mind persons remanded into, or sentenced to, prison department custody. Figures are not kept of prisoners on remand or just sentenced who are kept overnight in police cells for normal operational reasons, such as the distance of the court from a prison or remand centre. Otherwise, from 28 March to 30 April 1980, 13 sentenced young prisoners had been held in police cells for periods up to 24 hours because of the likelihood of industrial action at Wormwood Scrubs. In addition, one sentenced male adult 709W prisoner had been held in police cells since the beginning of 1980 in the interest of justice.