§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many strip searches were made of female prisoners in Her Majesty's prison, Armagh in the months of October and November respectively; if he will give the number of prisoners involved and the number of times each prisoner was searched; whether any prison contraband, smuggled items or illegal correspondence was 83W discovered in any of the searches, indicating which items; and whether any of these items were hidden in the orifices of the body.
§ Mr. Scott[pursuant to his reply, 2 December 1983, Vol. 49, c. 639–40.]: During October, 53 strip searches were carried out on 39 female inmates in Her Majesty's prison, Armagh. During November, 48 such searches were carried out on 41 female inmates. Individual prisoners were searched the following number of times:
Number of Prisoners and number of Searches in each case Prisoners Searches October 2 4 1 3 6 2 30 1 November 7 2 34 1 During these searches, one unauthorised item—a smuggled letter — was found in the clothing of a 84W prisoner. As I have made clear on previous occasions, the search procedure does not involve internal searching of any kind.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether, following his reply to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, North on 24 October,Official Report, c. 41, he will indicate the nature of the unauthorised items being smuggled into Her Majesty's prison, Armagh, by persons subject to strip searches, indicating the number of prisoners involved, whether the items were hidden in the orifices of the body, and whether the persons concerned were engaged on the pre-release working out scheme.
§ Mr. Scott[pursuant to his reply, 2 December 1983, Vol. 49, c. 639–40.]: The items referred to were a five pound note and a phial of perfume. Both items were found in the prisoner's clothing and the phial in a packet of cigarettes. The prisoner concerned was not engaged in the pre-release working out scheme. As I have made clear on previous occasions, the search procedure does not involve internal searching of any kind.