§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many letters to and from prisoners have been (a) photocopied and (b) retained in each of the last five years; and how many prisoners this has involved.
§ Mr. MellorThis information is not available.
§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is his practice regarding the photocopying of correspondence between prisoners and (a) solicitors, (b) Members of Parliament, (c) probation officers, (d) social workers and (e) members of their family; where such copies are retained; for how long and for what purpose; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if it is with his authority that letters to and from prisoners are photocopied by the prison service and sent to his Department's P5 division.
§ Mr. MellorUnder prison rule 33(1) the Secretary of State may, with a view to securing discipline and good order or the prevention of crime or in the interests of any persons, impose restrictions, either generally or in a particular case, upon the communications to be permitted between a prisoner and other persons. Under prison rule 33(3) letters to or from a prisoner may be read or examined. Under rule 37A(1) a prisoner who is a party to legal proceedings may correspond with his legal adviser in connection with the proceedings, and unless the Governor has reason to suppose that any such correspondence contains matter not relating to the proceedings it shall not be read or stopped. It may be necessary for correspondence not protected by rule 37A(1) to be photocopied for these procedures to operate effectively, or for the prevention of crime or in the interests of any persons, particularly where questions of national security arise; and his specific authority is not required for that. In such cases the photocopies would be 15W held at establishements or elsewhere for so long as necessary and would be destroyed when they were no longer needed.