§ Miss Maynardasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the strip-search of women in Holloway includes removal of underwear and sanitary protection; whether the woman concerned is put into a cubicle on her own; and whether any male prison officers are present.
§ Mr. HurdStrip searching procedures at Holloway require prisoners to remove their underwear during a search. They are then asked to remove any external sanitary protection which they may be using; a replacement is provided by the prison. Strip searches may 291W take place in many parts of the prison and cubicles are not provided for them. Male prison officers are not present at them.
§ Miss Maynardasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether women in Holloway prison can refuse to be strip-searched; and what happens if a woman refuses.
§ Mr. HurdNo. A prisoner who disobeys a lawful order is in breach of prison discipline. The action that would follow a refusal to be searched would depend on the circumstances, but in some situations there might be no alternative to the use of force. If the hon. Member has any particular incident in mind, we would be glad to look into it.