§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the decisions to be made regarding prosecutions for alleged criminal offences at Wormwood Scrubs in 1979 and at Birmingham in 1981.
§ The Attorney-GeneralI have been asked to reply.
I assume the hon. Member is referring to the disturbance at Wormwood Scrubs prison on 31 August 1979 and the death of Mr. Barry Dennis Prosser, an inmate of Winson Green prison, Birmingham, on 19 August 1980. Police inquiries into the disturbance at Wormwood Scrubs prison were commenced in March 1980 and have continued to date. A report has not yet been received by the director and none is expected for a considerable time.
The Director of Public Prosecutions initiated proceedings against a prison officer for the murder of Mr. Prosser but these were dismissed on 12 February 1981 at Birmingham magistrates' court. The coroner's report of the inquest into the death of Mr. Prosser has not yet been received by the DPP. When that report has been received, the director, with counsel, will consider whether any additional evidence emerged at the inquest to justify any further criminal proceedings against anyone.