HC Deb 19 July 1982 vol 28 cc21-2W
Mr. Whitlock

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will report on the recent escape of six men from Her Majesty's prison, Nottingham.

Mr. Whitelaw

Six prisoners escaped from Her Majesty's prison, Nottingham, shortly before midnight on Sunday 11 July. One of the prisoners was serving a life sentence for murder; the others were serving sentences of between three years and 30 months imprisonment for a range of offences. None of the prisoners was regarded as dangerous. Apart from the life sentence prisoner who was awaiting transfer to an open prison, all were eligible for parole or release within the next six months. The prisoners were housed in a section of the prison reserved for prisoners nearing release and in accommodation which, though within the perimeter of the prison, was not in itself secure against a determined escape attempt. The prisoners escaped by bolting three bed frames together to make a ladder and used sheeting to make a rope.

Three of the prisoners were recaptured within a few hours of their escape; a further two were captured on Wednesday 14 July. Police searches are continuing for the remaining prisoner—the life sentence prisoner.

Thorough inquiries have been made into the circumstances of the escape and a detailed report is being submitted by the governor to Prison Department headquarters. This will be fully considered and any weaknesses in security at the prison which may emerge will be put right as quickly as possible.

Mr. Whitlock

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why a man serving a life sentence for murder and another who had been convicted of grievous bodily harm were housed in unlocked nissen hut cells 15ft from the perimeter wall of Her Majesty's Prison, Nottingham, from which they recently escaped.

Mr. Whitelaw

All the prisoners who escaped from Nottingham prison on 11 July, including the two specifically identified in the question, were housed in a nissen hut which was in fact locked, but which has a low level of security as it is used to provide accommodation for prisoners who have a low security category and satisfy certain other criteria. The criteria for eligibility for location in the hut are as follows:

  1. (1) prison behaviour must be good
  2. (2) the prisoner must have less than six months to serve to his release date or
  3. (3) if a life sentence prisoner, he must have been given a provisional release date or be awaiting transfer to an open prison.

Both the prisoners mentioned and all others involved in this incident satisfied the criteria.