§ 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 month of July; if he will give the number of persons involved and the number of times each person was searched; whether any prison contraband, smuggled items or illegal circumstances were discovered in any search, indicating which items; and in how many cases prisoners refused to be searched and had to be restrained while the search was being concluded.
§ Mr. ScottDuring July, 25 strip searches were carried out on 20 female inmates in Her Majesty's prison Armagh. Individual prisoners were searched the following number of times:
Number of prisoners Number of searches in each case 5 2 15 1 No prohibited articles were found during these searches and no prisoner refused to be searched.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the incident in Her Majesty's prison, Armagh, to which the Parliamentary Under-Secretary referred on 26 July, Official Report, column 1231.
§ Mr. ScottAllegations have been made about the treatment of the baby of an inmate in Armagh prison who has chosen to have her baby with her. I am satisfied that this baby has every facility for her care and comfort. It is normal practice for the baby's pram and clothes to be checked by women staff on appropriate occasions to ensure security in the establishment, but there is no question of her being subject to strip or other close searches.